SOCIAL COGNITION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS AND FIRST-DEGREE RELATIVES OF PATIENTS

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• Schizophrenia is associated with misattributing motivational salience to neutral stimuli.
• Increased emotional arousal to neutral social stimuli is observed in paranoid schizophrenia psychosis.
• This study quantifies emotional arousal attributed to neutral-valence faces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate emotional arousal (EA) in neutral-valence faces in schizophrenia.
• To compare patients with schizophrenia, their relatives, and healthy controls.
• To explore the relationship between EA, social cognition, working memory, and oxidative stress.

Main Methods:

• Compared remitted schizophrenia patients (PG), relatives (RG), and healthy controls (HCG).
• Assessed oxidative stress markers (GPx, MDA, etc.), social cognition (Eyes Test), and working memory (N-back Task).
• Controlled for general intellectual abilities (Raven's Test).

Main Results:

• Healthy controls outperformed PG and RG in social cognition and working memory.
• PG and RG exhibited significantly higher Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) levels.
• Differences in social cognition diminished after controlling for working memory and general intelligence.

Conclusions:

• Social cognition, working memory, and GPx levels may serve as endophenotypes for schizophrenia.
• These cognitive functions and general intellectual skills are distinct yet related.
• Interventions targeting oxidative stress and cognitive skills, alongside psychopharmacology, may benefit schizophrenia progression.