Cognition underpins outcome in psychosis

Cognition is a principal factor in determining outcome in patients with psychosis, researchers suggest, with results showing that cognitive function underpins social perception and social knowledge.Deficiencies in social perception have been associated with poor social functioning and cognitive impairment. In particular, deficits in cognition have been associated to poor outcome in people with schizophrenia, and people with this psychiatric disorder are known to be less sensitive to interpersonal cues. Addington et al. investigated whether social cognition mediates the relationship between cognitive and social function.They conducted a one-year longitudinal cohort study to assess social perception, social knowledge, interpersonal problem-solving, cognition and social function in three groups. Group 1 comprised 50 people with first episode psychosis, group 2 comprised 53 people with multi-episode schizophrenia, and group 3 (control group) comprised 55 people with no history of psychiatric disorder.All three groups showed significant associations between social cognition, cognition and social functioning. When groups 1 and 2 were controlled for social cognition, the relationship between cognitive and social functioning was reduced. Deficits in social cognition were stable over time.The authors asserted that "compared with healthy controls, people with schizophrenia have deficits in social knowledge and social perception", noting that the deficits were evident to the same degree in people with first episode psychosis as well as those with chronic schizophrenia."Potential mediators such as social cognition hold promise for both increasing our understanding of psychosis and improving our interventions", they concluded.Reference...