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Tin LNW, Lui SSY, Ho KKY, Hung KSY, Wang Y, Yeung HKH, Wong TY, Lam SM, Chan RCK, Cheung EFC. High-functioning autism patients share similar but more severe impairments in verbal theory of mind than schizophrenia patients. Psychol Med 2018; 48:1264-1273. [PMID: 28920569 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717002690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that autism and schizophrenia share similarities in genetic, neuropsychological and behavioural aspects. Although both disorders are associated with theory of mind (ToM) impairments, a few studies have directly compared ToM between autism patients and schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate to what extent high-functioning autism patients and schizophrenia patients share and differ in ToM performance. METHODS Thirty high-functioning autism patients, 30 schizophrenia patients and 30 healthy individuals were recruited. Participants were matched in age, gender and estimated intelligence quotient. The verbal-based Faux Pas Task and the visual-based Yoni Task were utilised to examine first- and higher-order, affective and cognitive ToM. The task/item difficulty of two paradigms was examined using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Multiple ANOVAs and mixed model ANOVAs were used to examine group differences in ToM. RESULTS The Faux Pas Task was more difficult than the Yoni Task. High-functioning autism patients showed more severely impaired verbal-based ToM in the Faux Pas Task, but shared similar visual-based ToM impairments in the Yoni Task with schizophrenia patients. CONCLUSIONS The findings that individuals with high-functioning autism shared similar but more severe impairments in verbal ToM than individuals with schizophrenia support the autism-schizophrenia continuum. The finding that verbal-based but not visual-based ToM was more impaired in high-functioning autism patients than schizophrenia patients could be attributable to the varied task/item difficulty between the two paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- L N W Tin
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - S S Y Lui
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - K K Y Ho
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - K S Y Hung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - Y Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - H K H Yeung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - T Y Wong
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - S M Lam
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - R C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - E F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
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Wang Y, Liu WH, Li Z, Wei XH, Jiang XQ, Geng FL, Zou LQ, Lui SSY, Cheung EFC, Pantelis C, Chan RCK. Altered corticostriatal functional connectivity in individuals with high social anhedonia. Psychol Med 2016; 46:125-135. [PMID: 26315390 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291715001592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysregulation of the striatum and altered corticostriatal connectivity have been associated with psychotic disorders. Social anhedonia has been identified as a predictor for the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine corticostriatal functional connectivity in individuals with high social anhedonia. METHOD Twenty-one participants with high social anhedonia score and 30 with low social anhedonia score measured by the Chinese version of the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale were recruited from university undergraduates (age 17-21 years) to undergo resting-state functional MRI scans. Six subdivisions of the striatum in each hemisphere were defined as seeds. Voxel-wise functional connectivity analyses were conducted between each seed and the whole brain voxels, followed by repeated-measures ANOVA for the group effect. RESULTS Participants with high social anhedonia showed hyper-connectivity between the ventral striatum and the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula, and between the dorsal striatum and the motor cortex. Hypo-connectivity in participants with high social anhedonia was also observed between the ventral striatum and the posterior cingulate cortex. Partial correlation analyses further showed that the functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and the prefrontal cortex was associated with pleasure experience and emotional suppression. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that altered corticostriatal connectivity can be found in participants with high levels of social anhedonia. Since social anhedonia has been considered a predictor for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, our results may provide novel evidence on the early changes in brain functional connectivity in at-risk individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - W-H Liu
- School of Health Management,Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,China
| | - Z Li
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - X-H Wei
- Department of Radiology,Guangzhou First People's Hospital,Guangzhou,China
| | - X-Q Jiang
- Department of Radiology,Guangzhou First People's Hospital,Guangzhou,China
| | - F-L Geng
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - L-Q Zou
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - S S Y Lui
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - E F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China
| | - C Pantelis
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry,University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health,Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
| | - R C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with schizophrenia have intact ability to experience emotion, but empirical evidence suggests that they fail to translate emotional salience into effortful behaviour. Previous research in patients with chronic schizophrenia suggests that working memory is important in integrating emotion and behaviour. This study aimed to examine avolition and anhedonia in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and clarify the role of working memory in emotion-behaviour coupling. METHOD We recruited 72 participants with first-episode schizophrenia and 61 healthy controls, and used a validated emotion-inducing behavioural paradigm to measure participants' affective experiences and how experienced emotion coupled with behaviour. Participants were given the opportunity to expend effort to increase or decrease their exposure to emotion-inducing photographs. Participants with schizophrenia having poor working memory were compared with those with intact working memory in their liking and emotion-behaviour coupling. RESULTS Patients with first-episode schizophrenia experienced intact 'in-the-moment' emotion, but their emotion was less predictive of the effort expended, compared with controls. The emotion-behaviour coupling was significantly weaker in patients with schizophrenia with poor working memory than in those with intact working memory. However, compared with controls, patients with intact working also showed substantial emotion-behaviour decoupling. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide strong evidence for emotion-behaviour decoupling in first-episode schizophrenia. Although working memory deficits contribute to defective translation of liking into effortful behaviour, schizophrenia alone affects emotion-behaviour coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- S S Y Lui
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - A C Y Liu
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administration Region,People's Republic of China
| | - W W H Chui
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administration Region,People's Republic of China
| | - Z Li
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - F Geng
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - Y Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - E A Heerey
- Psychology Department,Western University,London,Ontario,Canada
| | - E F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administration Region,People's Republic of China
| | - R C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
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Xu T, Wang Y, Li Z, Huang J, Lui SSY, Tan SP, Yu X, Cheung EFC, He MG, Ott J, Gur RE, Gur RC, Chan RCK. Heritability and familiality of neurological soft signs: evidence from healthy twins, patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic first-degree relatives. Psychol Med 2016; 46:117-123. [PMID: 26347209 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291715001580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurological soft signs (NSS) have long been considered potential endophenotypes for schizophrenia. However, few studies have investigated the heritability and familiality of NSS. The present study examined the heritability and familiality of NSS in healthy twins and patient-relative pairs. METHOD The abridged version of the Cambridge Neurological Inventory was administered to 267 pairs of monozygotic twins, 124 pairs of dizygotic twins, and 75 pairs of patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic first-degree relatives. RESULTS NSS were found to have moderate but significant heritability in the healthy twin sample. Moreover, patients with schizophrenia correlated closely with their first-degree relatives on NSS. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, the findings provide evidence on the heritability and familiality of NSS in the Han Chinese population.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Xu
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - Y Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - Z Li
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - J Huang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - S S Y Lui
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - S-P Tan
- Beijing Huilongguan Hospital,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - X Yu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - E F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,People's Republic of China
| | - M-G He
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology,Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center,Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - J Ott
- Statistical Genetics Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - R E Gur
- Department of Psychiatry,Perelman School of Medicine,University of Pennsylvania,and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center,Philadelphia,PA,USA
| | - R C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry,Perelman School of Medicine,University of Pennsylvania,and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center,Philadelphia,PA,USA
| | - R C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory,Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,People's Republic of China
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Chan RCK, Lui SSY, Wang Y, Liu ACY, Chui WWH, Shum DHK, Cheung EFC. Patients with bipolar disorders share similar but attenuated prospective memory impairments with patients with schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2013; 43:1639-1649. [PMID: 23098329 DOI: 10.1017/s003329171200236x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to carry out an intended action in the future. PM is consistently found to be impaired in individuals with schizophrenia. Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may represent conditions along a continuum, and share similar neurocognitive and genetic architecture. This study aimed to compare the nature and extent of PM impairment in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. METHOD Participants were 38 out-patients with schizophrenia and 40 out-patients with bipolar disorder in an early psychosis intervention programme, and 37 healthy controls. Time-, event- and activity-based PMs were assessed using a dual-task laboratory paradigm. Self-reported PM performance was gauged using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with intelligence quotient (IQ) and education included as covariates, was used to examine group difference on various types of PM. Repeated measures of ANCOVA were used to examine the group × PM type interaction effect. Correspondence between laboratory and self-reported PM measures was examined using correlational analysis. RESULTS The group × PM type interaction effect was not significant, but the main effect of group was significant. Patients with schizophrenia and patients with bipolar disorder both performed more poorly than healthy participants in PM. The two clinical groups did not significantly differ in PM. Laboratory and self-reported PM measures did not correlate significantly with each other. CONCLUSIONS Patients with bipolar disorder shared a similar PM impairment with those with schizophrenia. Findings of this study extended the similarity in neurocognitive impairments between the two psychiatric disorders to PM.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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