Exploration of the Social Cognition in Adolescents With a Dissociative Disorder or Autism Spectrum

Overview

The schizophrenic disorders and pervasive developmental disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders distinct origin who share common challenges to engage and maintain social relationships and mutual disturbances of affective contact. An important issue of research is to determine the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying social disability in these two pathologies. Several lines of social cognition have been systematically explored: the perception of emotions, the ability to attribute intentionality and mental states to others (theory of mind), the understanding of social situations in different contexts. We made the observation today that research findings clearly in the field of autism and schizophrenic disorders that converge on common patterns neurocognitive abnormalities. Consequently, many programs support published today use the same therapeutic targets and the same tools in both pathologies. This raises two questions of science: (1) whether the disorders of social cognition reported in the field of autism and schizophrenia are "specific deficit" and not "specific condition", that is to say they are inherent social disadvantage whatever condition or (2) if these disorders of social cognition is a pattern common to autism and schizophrenia but are the result of specific neurocognitive mechanisms and different in each these pathologies. Systematic exploration of these issues is a current issue for understanding the pathophysiological borders between the two neurodevelopmental disorders but also to better define the potential targets of therapeutic strategies, psycho-educational and remediation of disorders of social cognition in autism and schizophrenia. Main objective: To compare clinical cognitive profiles in adolescents with a schizophrenic disorder, autistic or healthy in the three areas of social cognition: perception of emotions, attribution of intentions to others (theory of mind) and style attribution. We shall constitute three population groups of patients, a group of patients meeting the diagnosis of schizophrenia, a group of patients with autism and a control group (healthy subjects).

The schizophrenic disorders and pervasive developmental disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders distinct origin who share common challenges to engage and maintain social relationships and mutual disturbances of affective contact. An important issue of research is to determine the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying social disability in these two pathologies. Several lines of social cognition have been systematically explored: the perception of emotions, the ability to attribute intentionality and mental states to others (theory of mind), the understanding of social situations in different contexts. We made the observation today that research findings clearly in the field of autism and schizophrenic disorders that converge on common patterns neurocognitive abnormalities. Consequently, many programs support published today use the same therapeutic targets and the same tools in both pathologies. This raises two questions of science: (1) whether the disorders of social cognition reported in the field of autism and schizophrenia are "specific deficit" and not "specific condition", that is to say they are inherent social disadvantage whatever condition or (2) if these disorders of social cognition is a pattern common to autism and schizophrenia but are the result of specific neurocognitive mechanisms and different in each these pathologies. Systematic exploration of these issues is a current issue for understanding the pathophysiological borders between the two neurodevelopmental disorders but also to better define the potential targets of therapeutic strategies, psycho-educational and remediation of disorders of social cognition in autism and schizophrenia. Main objective: To compare clinical cognitive profiles in adolescents with a schizophrenic disorder, autistic or healthy in the three areas of social cognition: perception of emotions, attribution of intentions to others (theory of mind) and style attribution. We shall constitute three population groups of patients, a group of patients meeting the diagnosis of schizophrenia, a group of patients with autism and a control group (healthy subjects). Inclusion criteria: patients aged 12 to 18, with a verbal IQ greater than or equal to 70, a DSM-IV diagnosis of autism and / or schizophrenia. Assessment instruments: (1) clinical assessment instruments using standardized structured interviews that have already shown good sensitivity in our preliminary studies (2) techniques neuro-social cognition scientifically validated by the expert group of the ANR we are partners. The study of active files and preliminary results, we can estimate the population to 20 patients per group, a total of 60 patients. The originality of this study focuses on the ability to compare two populations in the same field of social cognition in three dimensions, which hitherto have been explored separately in the literature. The expected results are a range of prevention and treatment of major psychiatric children and adolescents because they help define therapeutic targets specific to each population