Social cognition deficits and the role of amygdala in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients without cognitive impairment

Pitteri, Marco; Genova, Helen M.; Lengenfelder, Jean; DeLuca, John; Ziccardi, Stefano; Rossi, Valentina; Calabrese, Massimiliano

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2019.01.030

Cited by 44 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Second, neuroimaging research in MS is beginning to elucidate how neuropathology in specific brain regions is related to emotion-specific recognition. For example, Pitteri et al (2019) reported that cortical lesion volume in the amygdala is related to recognition of fear and anger, but not other emotions. Larger scale studies are required to confirm whether neuropathology is related to recognition of specific emotions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Cognition in Individuals with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study Using TASIT-S

Genova

McDonald

2020

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

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Objective:Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) can have difficulty on tasks requiring social cognition, including Theory of Mind (ToM) and facial affect recognition. However, most research on social cognition in MS has focused on Relapsing–Remitting MS; less is known about deficits in individuals with progressive MS. This pilot study examined the social cognitive abilities of individuals with progressive MS on a dynamic social cognition task: The Awareness of Social Inference Test – Short Form (TASIT-S).Methods:Fifteen individuals with progressive MS and 17 healthy controls performed TASIT-S, which includes 3 subtests assessing facial affect recognition and ToM.Results:The MS group was impaired on all subtests of TASIT-S, including Emotion Evaluation, Social Inference – Minimal, and Social Inference – Enriched, which examine facial affect recognition and ToM. Deficits on TASIT-S were significantly correlated with several cognitive abilities including working memory, learning memory, and verbal IQ.Conclusions:Our findings suggest individuals with progressive MS were impaired across multiple social cognition domains as assessed by the TASIT-S. Furthermore, social cognitive abilities were related to cognitive abilities such as visuospatial memory and executive abilities. Results are discussed in terms of social cognition deficits in MS and how they relate to cognitive abilities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Cognition in Individuals with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study Using TASIT-S

Genova

McDonald

2020

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

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“…Early studies observed altered regional activation during social cognition tasks in brain areas relevant to affective processing (e.g., amygdala) as well as top-down control (e.g., ventrolateral prefrontal cortex) ( 14 – 16 ). More recently, structural MRI studies have linked social cognition deficits to lesion load distributed across the brain ( 17 ) and to atrophy of a variety of brain structures in the prefrontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices ( 18 , 19 ). Notably, amygdala lesions have repeatedly been found to be a major predictor of social cognitive deficits ( 19 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, structural MRI studies have linked social cognition deficits to lesion load distributed across the brain ( 17 ) and to atrophy of a variety of brain structures in the prefrontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices ( 18 , 19 ). Notably, amygdala lesions have repeatedly been found to be a major predictor of social cognitive deficits ( 19 ). However, given their complexity, social cognitive processes rely on intricate coordination of large-scale brain networks ( 9 ), rather than on narrowly defined brain areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct Functional Connectivity Signatures of Impaired Social Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

et al. 2020

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Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by impairments in basic cognitive functions such as information processing speed as well as in more complex, higher-order domains such as social cognition. However, as these deficits often co-occur, it has remained challenging to determine whether they have a specific pathological basis or are driven by shared biology. Methods: To identify neural signatures of social cognition deficits in MS, data were analyzed from n = 29 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and n = 29 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and education. We used neuropsychological assessments of information processing speed, attention, learning, working memory, and relevant aspects of social cognition (theory of mind, emotion recognition (ER), empathy) and employed neuroimaging of CNS networks using resting-state functional connectivity. Results: MS patients showed significant deficits in verbal learning and memory, as well as implicit ER. Performance in these domains was uncorrelated. Functional connectivity analysis identified a distinct network characterized by significant associations between poorer ER and lower connectivity of the fusiform gyrus (FFG) with the right lateral occipital cortex, which also showed lower connectivity in patients compared to controls. Moreover, while ER was correlated with MS symptoms such as fatigue and motor/sensory functioning on a behavioral level, FFG connectivity signatures of social cognition deficits showed no overlap with these symptoms. Conclusions: Our analyses identify distinct functional connectivity signatures of social cognition deficits in MS, indicating that these alterations may occur independently from those in other neuropsychological functions.

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“…In agreement with this, Pitteri at al. correlated bilateral amygdala damage, as measured by cortical lesion volume (CLV), to affected SC in PwMS, even in the absence of CI (47). In a multicenter study of structural correlates of CI in MS, the best predictors of CI were found to be atrophy of the hippocampus and deep GM nuclei (48).…”

Section: Regional Tissue Damage and Atrophymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Impairment and Brain Reorganization in MS: Underlying Mechanisms and the Role of Neurorehabilitation

2020

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Social cognition deficits and the role of amygdala in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients without cognitive impairment

Cited by 44 publications

References 31 publications

Social Cognition in Individuals with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study Using TASIT-S

Social Cognition in Individuals with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study Using TASIT-S

Distinct Functional Connectivity Signatures of Impaired Social Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

Cognitive Impairment and Brain Reorganization in MS: Underlying Mechanisms and the Role of Neurorehabilitation

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