Sex Differences in Social Cognition and Association of Social Cognition and Neurocognition in Early Course Schizophrenia

Abstract

BackgroundBoth impairment and sex differences in social cognition and neurocognition have been documented in schizophrenia. However, whether sex differences exist in the association between social cognition and neurocognition are not known. We aimed to investigate the contribution of areas of neurocognition to theory of mind (ToM) and hostility bias, representing social cognition, according to sex in early course schizophrenia.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we assessed neurocognition using the Japanese version of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) and assessed the ToM and hostility bias subdomains of social cognition using the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (SCSQ) in 131 participants (65 female, 66 male) diagnosed with schizophrenia within 5 years of onset. Sex differences were analyzed using t-tests. The associations of neurocognitive subdomains with ToM and hostility bias according to sex were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results were adjusted by age, estimated premorbid intelligence quotient, and symptomatology.ResultsNo sex differences were found in ToM (p = 0.071) or hostility bias (p = 0.057). Higher verbal fluency was significantly associated with higher ToM in females (p < 0.01), whereas higher executive function was significantly associated with higher ToM in males (p < 0.05). Higher verbal fluency was significantly associated with lower hostility bias in females (p < 0.05), whereas neurocognition and hostility bias were not significantly associated in males.ConclusionThe results suggest that neurocognition associated with social cognition differ according to sex. These differences should be considered for more effective treatment of social cognition.

Face pareidolia in male schizophrenia

“…The impact of inversion on response time (RT) was non-significant in SZ patients (upright orientation, 683. 44 74; 562.69]; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, z = 1.67, p = 0.597, two-tailed, n.s. ; Fig.…”

“…The focus on this patient population was set for several reasons: (i) SZ is a male-dominated mental disorder 22,23,25 . (ii) Males and females with SZ possess distinct profiles in social cognition and metacognition [42][43][44] ; (iii) Gender/sex differences are known in face pareidolia 61,82,84 ; and (iv) Last but not least, substantial gender differences in the FIE with face-like images have been documented: whereas in males, inversion efficiently prevents face pareidolia, in females, this effect is much less evident 62 . With a desire to attain group homogeneity, only male patients were enrolled in the study.…”

“…They exhibit difficulties on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test 7,31,32 and body language reading 10,15,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] . Males and females possess distinct profiles in social cognition and metacognition [42][43][44] . Individuals with SZ display lower sensitivity to faces expressing negative emotions as well as to happy faces, misinterpreting them as negative [45][46][47][48] .…”

Mimicking effects of auditory verbal hallucinations on language production at the level of words, sentences and stories

“…These verbal fluency deficits must be distinguished from a rather fair performance in simpler tasks of lexical retrieval such as picture naming (e.g., Al-Uzri et al, 2004 ; Tan and Rossell, 2017 ; but see Vogel et al, 2009 ). Thus, rather than assuming the locus of the effect (only) in lexical access per se (e.g., Heim, 2020 ), a link to other cognitive functions such as executive functions (e.g., working memory; processing speed) must be considered as potential causes for these specific deficits in schizophrenia ( Ojeda et al, 2008 ; Berberian et al, 2016 ), as these functions are associated with verbal fluency and cognitive reserve in neurotypical persons and (at least in male) PwS ( Marsh et al, 2019 ; Kubota et al, 2022 ). Also, the dissociation of verbal fluency deficits but no speech-onset latency effects in sentence production is in line with observations in real PwS vs. healthy controls ( Creyaufmüller et al, 2020 ).…”

Sex differences in factors influencing hospital-acquired pneumonia in schizophrenia patients receiving modified electroconvulsive therapy

“…Gender differences may exist in the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia patients; for example, the age of onset for men may be a 3-year younger than that for women (7,8). The correlation between non-social functioning and objective social cognition in men may be much stronger than in women (9), whereas hostile bias correlates with verbal fluency found in women (10). Women are good at processing speed and verbal situational memory, but men are good at visual working memory (11).…”