Neurobehavioral indices of gaze perception are associated with social cognition across schizophrenia patients and healthy controls.

Abstract

Background: Gaze perception is a basic building block of social cognition, which is impaired in schizophrenia (SZ) and contributes to functional outcomes. Few studies, however, have investigated neural underpinnings of gaze perception and their relation to social cognition. We address this gap. Method: We recruited 77 SZ patients and 71 healthy controls, who completed various social-cognition tasks. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants (62 SZ, 54 controls) completed a gaze-perception task, where they judged whether faces with varying gaze angles were self-directed or averted; as a control condition, participants identified stimulus gender. Activation estimates were extracted based on (a) task versus baseline, (b) gaze-perception versus gender-identification, (c) parametric modulation by perception of stimuli as self-directed versus averted, and (d) parametric modulation by stimulus gaze angle. We used latent variable analysis to test associations among diagnostic group, brain activation, gaze perception, and social cognition. Results: Preferential activation to gaze perception was observed throughout dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, and insula. Activation was modulated by stimulus gaze angle and perception of stimuli as self-directed versus averted. More precise gaze perception and higher task-related activation were associated with better social cognition. Patients with SZ showed hyperactivation within left pre-/postcentral gyrus, which was associated with more precise gaze perception and fewer symptoms and thus may be a compensatory mechanism. Conclusions: Neural and behavioral indices of gaze perception were related to social cognition, across patients and controls. This suggests gaze perception is an important perceptual building block for more complex social cognition. Results are discussed in the context of dimensional psychopathology and clinical heterogeneity.

Cognitive Mechanisms of Aberrant Self-Referential Social Perception in Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder: Insights from Computational Modeling

“…Yet, in SZ and BD, these abilities are disrupted. Patients tend to make slower [16][17][18][19][20][21] , less accurate 17,20,22 , and/or less precise judgments about others' gaze [23][24][25][26][27] , and show self-referential biases toward over-endorsing eye contact [23][24][25][26]28,29,29,30 . These disruptions relate to poorer general 23,28,29 and social cognition 16,23,24,27,29 , and greater positive and negative symptoms (in SZ) 22,23,26,28 .…”