scholarly journals Simulation and social behavior: an fMRI study of neural processing during simulation in individuals with and without risk for psychosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174
Author(s):  
Sarah Hope Lincoln ◽  
Laura T Germine ◽  
Patrick Mair ◽  
Christine I Hooker
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Risk Indicator ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Ability ◽  
Fmri Study

Abstract Social dysfunction is a risk indicator for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, with at-risk individuals demonstrating a range of social behavior impairments. Variability in social ability may be explained by individual differences in the psychological processes of social behavior. In particular, mental simulation, the process by which an individual generates an internal representation of the thoughts or feelings of another, may explain variation in social behavior. This study investigates the neural process of simulation in healthy individuals and individuals at risk for psychosis. Using a novel fMRI pain paradigm, individuals watch videos of another person’s hand or foot experiencing pain. After each video, individuals are asked to simulate the observed painful situation on their own hand or foot. Neural activity during simulation in the somatosensory cortex was associated with real-world self-reported social behavior, such that a stronger neural response in the somatosensory cortex was associated with greater rates of positive social experiences and affective empathy across all participants. These findings suggest that the neural mechanisms that underlie simulation are important for social behavior, and may explain individual variability in social functioning in healthy and at-risk populations.

Smartphone sensing of social interactions in people with and without schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Fulford ◽  
Jasmine Mote ◽  
Rachel Gonzalez ◽  
Samuel Abplanalp ◽  
Yuting Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Social Impairment ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Digital Phenotyping ◽  
Ecological Momentary

Social impairment is a cardinal feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SZ). Smaller social network size, diminished social skills, and loneliness are highly prevalent. Existing, gold-standard assessments of social impairment in SZ often rely on self-reported information that depends on retrospective recall and detailed accounts of complex social behaviors. This is particularly problematic in people with SZ given characteristic cognitive impairments and reduced insight. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; repeated self-reports completed in the context of daily life) allows for the measurement of social behavior as it occurs in vivo, yet still relies on participant input. Momentary characterization of behavior using smartphone sensors (e.g., GPS, microphone) may also provide ecologically valid indicators of social functioning. In the current study we tested associations between both active (e.g., EMA-reported number of interactions) and passive (GPS-based mobility, conversations captured by microphone) smartphone-based measures of social activity and measures of social functioning and loneliness to examine the promise of such measures for understanding social impairment in SZ. Our results indicate that passive markers of mobility were more consistently associated with EMA measures of social behavior in controls than in people with SZ. Furthermore, dispositional loneliness showed associations with mobility metrics in both groups, while general social functioning was less related to these metrics. Finally, interactions detected in the ambient audio were more tied to social functioning in SZ than in controls. Findings speak to the promise of smartphone-based digital phenotyping as an approach to understanding objective markers of social activity in people with and without schizophrenia.

Prevalence and Incidence of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Implications for Prevention

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. A26-A34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Assen Jablensky
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Intention To Treat ◽  
Risk Criteria ◽  
Conceptual Background

Objective This paper reviews the historical and conceptual background to proposals about prevention of schizophrenia through intervention targeting asymptomatic, high-risk individuals. It also examines the outcomes of a hypothetical model of prevention based on a two-stage risk segmenting approach. Method The assumptions and parameters used in the model are derived from actual epidemiological and clinical research. The two risk criteria selected are: (i) genetic risk (having a parent with schizophrenia); and (ii) neurocognitive deficit (abnormal performance on the Continuous Performance Task, CPT). The parameters and risk factors are applied to a hypothetical screening program covering a population of 100 000. Results At the end of the second stage of screening the program using the risk criteria to search for preventable cases will have correctly identified only three out of 20 ‘true’ cases and will have incorrectly assigned to treatment two non-cases. The great majority of people at risk who will eventually develop schizophrenia are likely to remain undetected by current screening or preclinical diagnostic programs, while a certain number of people actually not at risk would be falsely identified as high-risk and offered treatment. Conclusions Reliably identifying, with intention to treat, asymptomatic people in the community who are presumed to be at high risk of developing schizophrenia is at present epidemiologically non-viable. This caveat should not apply to strategies for early diagnosis and treatment of incipient episodes of schizophrenia where strategies to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis are likely to be both feasible and cost-effective.

scholarly journals Sex differences in the development of emotion circuitry in adolescents at risk for substance abuse: a longitudinal fMRI study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 965-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian E. Hardee ◽  
Lora M. Cope ◽  
Emily C. Munier ◽  
Robert C. Welsh ◽  
Robert A. Zucker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Fmri Study

An fMRI study of “theory of mind” in at-risk states of psychosis: Comparison with manifest schizophrenia and healthy controls

NeuroImage ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 329-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Brüne ◽  
Seza Özgürdal ◽  
Nina Ansorge ◽  
Heinrich Graf von Reventlow ◽  
Sören Peters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Fmri Study

Emotion Knowledge as a Predictor of Social Behavior and Academic Competence in Children at Risk

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carroll Izard ◽  
Sarah Fine ◽  
David Schultz ◽  
Allison Mostow ◽  
Brian Ackerman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Academic Competence ◽  
Emotion Knowledge ◽  
Children At Risk
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