Emotion recognition and theory of mind in chronic schizophrenia: Association with negative symptoms

Abstract

Aims: Assessing a relationship between the negative symptoms and deficits in emotion recognition and theory of mind as well as social functioning in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with schizophrenia (10 male, 10 female) aged 36+11 years, with a mean duration of illness 13+9 years, were studied during an improvement period, stabilized on medications for at least 3 months. For the assessment of symptoms, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Brief Negative Symptoms Scale (BNSS) were used. Emotion recognition was measured by the Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT), and theory of mind - by the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (R-MET). Patients' social functioning was evaluated by the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP). Results: Significant correlations were obtained between the negative symptoms of PANSS and BNSS, and the results of FEIT and R-MET. Association was observed between BNSS and FEIT for anhedonia, distress, asociality, avolition, blunted affect and alogia, and between BNSS and R-MET for distress, emotional blunting and alogia. Both PANSS and BNSS negative symptoms significantly correlated with the results of PSP. Discussion: Our results correspond to those of recent studies showing priority of negative over positive symptoms in determining deficits in social cognition and functioning in chronic schizophrenia. Conclusions: All domains of negative symptoms assessed by the BNSS correlated with deficits in emotion recognition and social functioning, and some domains correlated with the measure of theory of mind.