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Disorganization and Social Cognition: Data from the Italian Network of Research on Psychoses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

P. Rocca*
Affiliation:
Unito, Italy

Abstract

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Social cognition (SC) refers broadly to the domains of cognitive functions that are employed in socially relevant situations. These disturbances have been found to be strongly related to disorganized and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Each of the disorganization symptoms suggests a diminishment or absence of organization. There seems to be a loss of the ability to be directed toward or committed to a particular focal topic or goal. Such conditions are likely to impact patients’ drives or motivations to initiate goal-directed activities that could yield pleasurable opportunities. Moreover, it has been suggested that disorganized symptoms are an integral link in cognitive pathways, with connections between cognitive processes weakening as disorganized symptoms increase. Thus, it seems that when disorganized symptoms are present, people with schizophrenia are no longer able to effectively utilize the neurocognitive abilities necessary for performing social cognitive or metacognitive tasks. It is also in line with models of disorganization in schizophrenia (Bleuler, 1911) that a “loosening of associations”—similar to current conceptualizations of disorganized symptoms—is at the core of these cognitive disruptions. Previous research has linked disorganization to cognition (neurocognition and SC) and cognition to social functioning, although in separate studies. The present study was conducted to explore a model, where disorganization predicted social functioning both directly both through indirect effects on other determinants (neurocognition, SC and negative symptoms) in a large, and well-characterized sample of patients with schizophrenia recruited in the context of a multi-center study of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses (NIRP).

Disclosure of interest

The author declares that he has no competing interest.

Type
Symposium: Social cognition in schizophrenia: pathophysiology, functional implications and treatment options
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2017
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