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Brain Sciences
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Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia
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Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 2669

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Maria Skibińska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychiatric Genetics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Rokietnicka 8, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Interests: psychiatry; biomarkers; proteomics; transcriptomics; schizophrenia; bipolar affective disorder; major depressive disorder; suicide

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia is a fundamental part of the disease. Affecting over 80% of patients, along with negative symptoms, it is a leading cause of disability and high indirect costs. Impairment in neurocognition and social cognition are associated with decreased functional capacity and poor real-life functioning. Current pharmacological treatments have limited effects on cognitive deficits, and side effects may even worsen some deficits. Non-pharmacological interventions show beneficial effects; however, high inter-individual variability in the outcome is observed. Increasing efforts are being made to develop new strategies for treating and managing cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.

This Special Issue will accept original articles and literature reviews on all aspects of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia, including human and animal studies. Studies on novel pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment interventions are strongly encouraged. Studies on genetics, neurobiology, neuroimaging, and biomarkers of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia are welcomed. 

Dr. Maria Skibińska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • schizophrenia
  • cognition
  • cognitive dysfunction
  • cognitive impairment
  • neurocognition
  • social cognition

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 2074 KiB  
Article
Two Sides of Theory of Mind: Mental State Attribution to Moving Shapes in Paranoid Schizophrenia Is Independent of the Severity of Positive Symptoms
by Christina Fuchs, Sarita Silveira, Thomas Meindl, Richard Musil, Kim Laura Austerschmidt, Dirk W. Eilert, Norbert Müller, Hans-Jürgen Möller, Rolf Engel, Maximilian Reiser, Martin Driessen, Thomas Beblo and Kristina Hennig-Fast
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(5), 461; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci14050461 - 02 May 2024
Viewed by 95
Abstract
Background: Theory of Mind (ToM) impairment has repeatedly been found in paranoid schizophrenia. The current study aims at investigating whether this is related to a deficit in ToM (undermentalizing) or an increased ToM ability to hyperattribute others’ mental states (overmentalizing). Methods: Mental state [...] Read more.
Background: Theory of Mind (ToM) impairment has repeatedly been found in paranoid schizophrenia. The current study aims at investigating whether this is related to a deficit in ToM (undermentalizing) or an increased ToM ability to hyperattribute others’ mental states (overmentalizing). Methods: Mental state attribution was examined in 24 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (12 acute paranoid (APS) and 12 post-acute paranoid (PPS)) with regard to positive symptoms as well as matched healthy persons using a moving shapes paradigm. We used 3-T-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to provide insights into the neural underpinnings of ToM due to attributional processes in different states of paranoid schizophrenia. Results: In the condition that makes demands on theory of mind skills (ToM condition), in patients with diagnosed schizophrenia less appropriate mental state descriptions have been used, and they attributed mental states less often to the moving shapes than healthy persons. On a neural level, patients suffering from schizophrenia exhibited within the ToM network hypoactivity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and hyperactivity in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) as compared to the healthy sample. Conclusions: Our results indicate both undermentalizing and hypoactivity in the MPFC and increased overattribution related to hyperactivity in the TPJ in paranoid schizophrenia, providing new implications for understanding ToM in paranoid schizophrenia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia)
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13 pages, 404 KiB  
Article
Revisiting Cognitive Deficits in Outpatients with Psychotic Disorders: A Transdiagnostic Comparison of Cognitive Performance While Accounting for Putative Confounding Factors
by Mathias Konstantin Kammerer, Ulrike Nowak, Tania M. Lincoln and Katarina Krkovic
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(5), 446; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci14050446 - 29 Apr 2024
Viewed by 151
Abstract
Recent research suggests that cognitive deficits in individuals with psychotic disorders could be overestimated because poor cognitive test performance is partly attributable to non-cognitive factors. To further test this, we included non-hospitalized individuals with psychotic disorders (PSY, n = 38), individuals with attenuated [...] Read more.
Recent research suggests that cognitive deficits in individuals with psychotic disorders could be overestimated because poor cognitive test performance is partly attributable to non-cognitive factors. To further test this, we included non-hospitalized individuals with psychotic disorders (PSY, n = 38), individuals with attenuated psychotic symptoms (n = 40), individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorders (n = 39), and healthy controls (n = 38). Relevant cognitive domains were assessed using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. Putative confounding non-cognitive factors—heart rate, self-reported stress, negative affect, performance-related beliefs, and actigraphy-derived sleep—were assessed before cognitive testing. A multivariate analysis of covariance was calculated to examine group differences in cognitive performance while controlling for non-cognitive factors. PSY showed decreased test performance in graphomotor speed, attention, and verbal tasks compared to the other groups, whereas non-verbal/visual-spatial tasks were unimpaired. After accounting for non-cognitive factors, group differences diminished in verbal learning, whereas differences in the other domains remained significant. Against our hypotheses, the present findings indicate that some cognitive deficits in PSY cannot be attributed to momentary confounding factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia)
14 pages, 291 KiB  
Article
The Bidirectional Relationship between Weight Gain and Cognitive Function in First-Episode Schizophrenia: A Longitudinal Study in China
by Ke Ma, Tianhang Zhou, Chengcheng Pu, Zhang Cheng, Xue Han, Lei Yang and Xin Yu
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(4), 310; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci14040310 - 26 Mar 2024
Viewed by 758
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia often encounter notable weight gain during their illness, heightening the risk of metabolic diseases. While previous studies have noted a correlation between obesity and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, many were cross-sectional, posing challenges in establishing a causal relationship between weight [...] Read more.
Patients with schizophrenia often encounter notable weight gain during their illness, heightening the risk of metabolic diseases. While previous studies have noted a correlation between obesity and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, many were cross-sectional, posing challenges in establishing a causal relationship between weight gain and cognitive function. The aim of this longitudinal study is to examine the relationship between weight gain and cognitive function in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) during the initial 6-month antipsychotic treatments. Employing linear and logistic regression analyses, the study involved 337 participants. Significantly, baseline scores in processing speed (OR = 0.834, p = 0.007), working memory and attention (OR = 0.889, p = 0.043), and executive function (OR = 0.862, p = 0.006) were associated with clinically relevant weight gain (CRW, defined as an increase in body weight > 7%) at the 6-month endpoint. On the other hand, CRW correlated with improvements in the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (p = 0.037). These findings suggest that patients with lower baseline cognitive performance undergo more substantial weight gain. Conversely, weight gain was correlated with cognitive improvements, particularly in the domain of visual learning and memory. This suggested a potential bidirectional relationship between weight gain and cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia)
19 pages, 1133 KiB  
Article
Cognitive Biases and Socio-Occupational Functioning Mediate the Relationship between Executive Functions and the Severity of Psychopathology among Young Adults with Psychotic-like Experiences: 1-Year Follow-Up Study
by Aleksandra Arciszewska-Leszczuk, Andrzej Cechnicki, Dorota Frydecka, Dawid Kruk and Łukasz Gawęda
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(3), 256; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci14030256 - 05 Mar 2024
Viewed by 983
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether Trail Making Test (TMT) performance is associated with the severity of psychopathological symptoms related to psychosis among young adults with elevated level of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), and whether this relationship is mediated by cognitive [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether Trail Making Test (TMT) performance is associated with the severity of psychopathological symptoms related to psychosis among young adults with elevated level of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), and whether this relationship is mediated by cognitive biases and socio-occupational functioning. A total of 187 subjects from a larger population of 6722 young adults participated in this 1-year follow-up study. The inclusion criteria were an elevated level of PLEs (the highest score of the Prodromal Questionnaire) and a lack of schizophrenia diagnosis. Eventually, 134 subjects (71.6%) completed the TMT, as well as the DACOBS scale (cognitive biases), at baseline and were examined twice using the CAARMS (psychopathology) and SOFAS (socio-occupational functioning) scales. In the first (I) and second (II) measurements, the calculated effects indicate indirect-only mediations, which explained 35 and 38% of the variance of the CAARMS. The TMT B execution time was positively associated with the DACOBS scale (β = 0.19, p = 0.028), which was negatively related to the SOFAS I (β = −0.37, p < 0.001) and SOFAS II (β = −0.20, p = 0.016) measurements. A lower score on the SOFAS I predicted a higher score on the CAARMS I (β = −0.50, p < 0.001), and a lower SOFAS II predicted a higher score on the CAARMS II (β = −0.61, p < 0.001). Subtle EF dysfunctions may, over time, translate into a greater severity of symptoms related to psychosis in people with elevated PLEs, and this is mediated by a deterioration of their metacognition and socio-occupational functioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia)
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