Social cognition in multiple sclerosis and its subtypes: A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Immunology

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease.
• MS disrupts social cognitive abilities like theory of mind (ToM) and facial emotion recognition (FER).
• Specific impacts on ToM subcomponents and MS subtypes remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific impairments in cognitive and affective ToM in MS patients.
• To analyze social cognitive abilities across different MS subtypes.
• To provide quantitative insights into social cognition deficits in MS.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases up to June 2020.
• Meta-analysis using Hedges g effect sizes with a random-effects model.
• Inclusion of 45 studies comparing MS patients and subtypes to healthy controls.

Main Results:

• Patients with MS and its subtypes (RRMS, progressive MS) demonstrated significant impairments in ToM, cognitive ToM, affective ToM, and FER compared to healthy controls.
• No significant differences in ToM or FER were found between primary progressive MS and secondary progressive MS.
• Patients with progressive MS showed more severe FER deficits than those with RRMS.

Conclusions:

• MS and its subtypes exhibit differential impairments in core social cognitive functions, including ToM and FER.
• These findings support the development of structured social cognitive interventions for MS patients.
• Understanding these deficits is crucial for improving patient quality of life and social functioning.