Neural bases for impaired social cognition in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Schizophrenia and autism both feature significant impairments in social cognition and social functioning, but the specificity and mechanisms of these deficits remain unknown. Recent research suggests that social cognitive deficits in both disorders may arise from dysfunctions in the neural systems that underlie social cognition. We explored the neural activation of discrete brain regions implicated in social cognitive and face processing in schizophrenia subgroups and autism spectrum disorders during complex social judgments of faces. Twelve individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 12 paranoid individuals with schizophrenia (P-SCZ), 12 non-paranoid individuals with schizophrenia (NP-SCZ), and 12 non-clinical healthy controls participated in this cross sectional study. Neural activation, as indexed by blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast, was measured in a priori regions of interest while individuals rated faces for trustworthiness. All groups showed significant activation of a social cognitive network including the amygdala, fusiform face area (FFA), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) while completing a task of complex social cognition (i.e. trustworthiness judgments). ASD and P-SCZ individuals showed significantly reduced neural activation in the right amygdala, FFA, and left VLPFC as compared to controls and in the left VLPFC as compared to NP-SCZ individuals during this task. These findings lend support to models hypothesizing well-defined neural substrates of social cognition and suggest a specific neural mechanism that may underlie social cognitive impairments in both autism and paranoid schizophrenia.

Figure 1

Activation in response to the Trustworthiness Task. Statistical parametric maps overlaid on the mean T1 anatomical image showing activation within each ROI for each group while rating faces for trustworthiness (significance and display threshold = p<.05, FWE corrected for multiple comparisons across a small volume of interest). Each column of images is masked by the specified ROI.

Figure 2

Group differences in activation while making trustworthiness judgments. Statistical parametric maps overlaid on the mean T1 anatomical image showing regions of greater activation for each comparison (statistical and display threshold = p<.05, uncorrected, spatial extent of 3 contiguous voxels). Images are masked by ROI.

Figure 3

Social cognitive neural regions showing greater activation for trust judgments than age judgments in the control and NP-SCZ groups. Statistical parametric maps overlaid on mean T1 anatomical images showing activation in bilateral amygdala, bilateral STS, left VLPFC that is specific to judgments of trustworthiness as compared to judgments of age (statistical and display threshold = p<.05, FWE corrected for multiple comparisons across a small volume of interest). All images are masked by ROI.