The influence of autistic symptoms on social and non-social cognition and on real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia: Evidence from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study

Antonio Vita^{1

2}, Stefano Barlati^{1

2}, Giacomo Deste², Paola Rocca³, Alessandro Rossi⁴, Alessandro Bertolino⁵, Eugenio Aguglia⁶, Mario Amore⁷, Antonello Bellomo⁸, Massimo Biondi⁹, Bernardo Carpiniello¹⁰, Enrico Collantoni¹¹, Alessandro Cuomo¹², Enrico D'Ambrosio⁵, Liliana Dell' Osso¹³, Massimo di Giannantonio¹⁴, Giulia Maria Giordano¹⁵, Carlo Marchesi¹⁶, Palmiero Monteleone¹⁷, Cristiana Montemagni³, Lucio Oldani¹⁸, Maurizio Pompili¹⁹, Rita Roncone²⁰, Rodolfo Rossi⁴, Alberto Siracusano²¹, Patrizia Zeppegno²², Gabriele Nibbio¹, Silvana Galderisi¹⁵, Mario Maj¹⁵; Italian Network for Research on Psychoses

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Italian Network for Research on Psychoses:
Anna Ceraso²³, Alessandro Galluzzo²³, Jacopo Lisoni²³, Piergiuseppe Di Palo²⁴, Marco Papalino²⁴, Raffaella Romano²⁴, Federica Pinna²⁵, Alice Lai²⁵, Silvia Lostia di Santa Sofia²⁵, Paola Bucci²⁶, Giuseppe Piegari²⁶, Francesco Brando²⁶, Luigi Giuliani²⁶, Maria Salvina Signorelli²⁷, Laura Fusar Poli²⁷, Giovanni Martinotti²⁸, Mauro Pettorruso²⁸, Chiara Montemitro²⁸, Mario Altamura²⁹, Stefania Malerba²⁹, Flavia Padalino²⁹, Andrea Amerio³⁰, Pietro Calcagno³⁰, Domenico Zampogna³⁰, Laura Giusti³¹, Anna Salza³¹, Silvia Mammarella³¹, Francesca Pacitti³¹, Valentina Socci³¹, Dalila Talevi³¹, Carla Gramaglia³², Alessandro Feggi³², Amalia Jona³², Angela Favaro³³, Elena Tenconi³³, Paolo Meneguzzo³³, Paolo Ossola³⁴, Matteo Tonna³⁴, Maria Lidia Gerra³⁴, Claudia Carmassi³⁵, Camilla Gesi³⁵, Barbara Carpita³⁵, Giulio Corrivetti³⁶, Giammarco Cascino³⁶, Gianfranco Del Buono³⁶, Fabio Di Fabio³⁷, Antonio Buzzanca³⁷, Nicoletta Girardi³⁷, Roberto Brugnoli³⁷, Anna Comparelli³⁷, Valentina Corigliano³⁷, Andrea Fagiolini³⁸, Simone Bolognesi³⁸, Arianna Goracci³⁸, Giorgio Di Lorenzo³⁹, Cinzia Niolu³⁹, Michele Ribolsi³⁹, Claudio Brasso⁴⁰, Cecilia Riccardi⁴⁰, Elisa Del Favero⁴⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
² Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST-Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
³ Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
⁴ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
⁵ Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
⁶ Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
⁷ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
⁸ Psychiatry Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
⁹ Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
¹⁰ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
¹¹ Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
¹² Department of Molecular Medicine and Clinical Department of Mental Health, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
¹³ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹⁴ Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. D'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.
¹⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
¹⁶ Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
¹⁷ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana", Section of Neuroscience, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
¹⁹ Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, S. Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
²⁰ Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
²¹ Department of Systems Medicine, Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology Unit, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
²² Department of Translational Medicine, Psychiatric Unit, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
²³ University of Brescia.
²⁴ University of Bari.
²⁵ University of Cagliari.
²⁶ University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,"Naples.
²⁷ University of Catania.
²⁸ University of Chieti.
²⁹ University of Foggia.
³⁰ University of Genoa.
³¹ University of L'Aquila.
³² University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara.
³³ University of Padua.
³⁴ University of Parma.
³⁵ University of Pisa.
³⁶ Department of Mental Health, Salerno.
³⁷ Sapienza University of Rome.
³⁸ University of Siena.
³⁹ Tor Vergata University of Rome.
⁴⁰ University of Turin.

PMID: 33168115
PMCID: PMC7737172
DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.99

The influence of autistic symptoms on social and non-social cognition and on real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia: Evidence from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study

Antonio Vita et al. Eur Psychiatry. 2020.

. 2020 Nov 10;63(1):e98.

doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.99.

Authors

Collaborators

Italian Network for Research on Psychoses:
Anna Ceraso²³, Alessandro Galluzzo²³, Jacopo Lisoni²³, Piergiuseppe Di Palo²⁴, Marco Papalino²⁴, Raffaella Romano²⁴, Federica Pinna²⁵, Alice Lai²⁵, Silvia Lostia di Santa Sofia²⁵, Paola Bucci²⁶, Giuseppe Piegari²⁶, Francesco Brando²⁶, Luigi Giuliani²⁶, Maria Salvina Signorelli²⁷, Laura Fusar Poli²⁷, Giovanni Martinotti²⁸, Mauro Pettorruso²⁸, Chiara Montemitro²⁸, Mario Altamura²⁹, Stefania Malerba²⁹, Flavia Padalino²⁹, Andrea Amerio³⁰, Pietro Calcagno³⁰, Domenico Zampogna³⁰, Laura Giusti³¹, Anna Salza³¹, Silvia Mammarella³¹, Francesca Pacitti³¹, Valentina Socci³¹, Dalila Talevi³¹, Carla Gramaglia³², Alessandro Feggi³², Amalia Jona³², Angela Favaro³³, Elena Tenconi³³, Paolo Meneguzzo³³, Paolo Ossola³⁴, Matteo Tonna³⁴, Maria Lidia Gerra³⁴, Claudia Carmassi³⁵, Camilla Gesi³⁵, Barbara Carpita³⁵, Giulio Corrivetti³⁶, Giammarco Cascino³⁶, Gianfranco Del Buono³⁶, Fabio Di Fabio³⁷, Antonio Buzzanca³⁷, Nicoletta Girardi³⁷, Roberto Brugnoli³⁷, Anna Comparelli³⁷, Valentina Corigliano³⁷, Andrea Fagiolini³⁸, Simone Bolognesi³⁸, Arianna Goracci³⁸, Giorgio Di Lorenzo³⁹, Cinzia Niolu³⁹, Michele Ribolsi³⁹, Claudio Brasso⁴⁰, Cecilia Riccardi⁴⁰, Elisa Del Favero⁴⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
² Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST-Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
³ Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
⁴ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
⁵ Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
⁶ Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
⁷ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
⁸ Psychiatry Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
⁹ Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
¹⁰ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
¹¹ Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
¹² Department of Molecular Medicine and Clinical Department of Mental Health, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
¹³ Section of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹⁴ Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. D'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.
¹⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
¹⁶ Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
¹⁷ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana", Section of Neuroscience, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
¹⁹ Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, S. Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
²⁰ Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
²¹ Department of Systems Medicine, Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology Unit, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
²² Department of Translational Medicine, Psychiatric Unit, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
²³ University of Brescia.
²⁴ University of Bari.
²⁵ University of Cagliari.
²⁶ University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,"Naples.
²⁷ University of Catania.
²⁸ University of Chieti.
²⁹ University of Foggia.
³⁰ University of Genoa.
³¹ University of L'Aquila.
³² University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara.
³³ University of Padua.
³⁴ University of Parma.
³⁵ University of Pisa.
³⁶ Department of Mental Health, Salerno.
³⁷ Sapienza University of Rome.
³⁸ University of Siena.
³⁹ Tor Vergata University of Rome.
⁴⁰ University of Turin.

PMID: 33168115
PMCID: PMC7737172
DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.99

Abstract

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), although conceptualized as separate entities, may share some clinical and neurobiological features. ASD symptoms may have a relevant role in determining a more severe clinical presentation of schizophrenic disorder but their relationships with cognitive aspects and functional outcomes of the disease remain to be addressed in large samples of individuals.

Aims: To investigate the clinical, cognitive, and functional correlates of ASD symptoms in a large sample of people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Methods: The severity of ASD symptoms was measured with the PANSS Autism Severity Scale (PAUSS) in 921 individuals recruited for the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study. Based on the PAUSS scores, three groups of subjects were compared on a wide array of cognitive and functional measures.

Results: Subjects with more severe ASD symptoms showed a poorer performance in the processing speed (p = 0.010), attention (p = 0.011), verbal memory (p = 0.035), and social cognition (p = 0.001) domains, and an overall lower global cognitive composite score (p = 0.010). Subjects with more severe ASD symptoms also showed poorer functional capacity (p = 0.004), real-world interpersonal relationships (p < 0.001), and participation in community-living activities (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: These findings strengthen the notion that ASD symptoms may have a relevant impact on different aspects of the disease, crucial to the life of people with schizophrenia. Prominent ASD symptoms may characterize a specific subpopulation of individuals with SSD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders; cognition; psychosocial functioning; schizophrenia; social cognition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
1. Barlati S, Deste G, Ariu C, Vita A. Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia: do they overlap? Int J Emerg Ment Health Hum Resil. 2016;18:760–763. doi: 10.4172/1522-4821.1000318. - DOI
1. Dell’Osso L, Luche RD, Maj M. Adult autism spectrum as a transnosographic dimension. CNS Spectr. 2016;21:131–133. doi: 10.1017/S1092852915000450. - DOI - PubMed
1. Hommer RE, Swedo SE. Schizophrenia and autism-related disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2015;41:313–314. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbu188. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. King BH, Lord C. Is schizophrenia on the autism spectrum? Brain Res. 2011;1380:34–41. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.11.031. - DOI - PubMed

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The influence of autistic symptoms on social and non-social cognition and on real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia: Evidence from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study

Collaborators

Affiliations

The influence of autistic symptoms on social and non-social cognition and on real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia: Evidence from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses multicenter study

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical