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Comparative Study
. 2026 Jan 16;52(1):sbaf005.
doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaf005.

Comparative Analysis of Social Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance Across Autism and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Ayesha G Rashidi  1   2 , Lindsay D Oliver  1   3 , Iska Moxon-Emre  1 , Colin Hawco  1   2   3 , Erin W Dickie  1   3 , Ruyi Pan  1   4 , Maria T Secara  1   2 , Ju-Chi Yu  1 , Peter Szatmari  1   3   5 , Pushpal Desarkar  2   3   6   7 , George Foussias  1   2   3 , Robert W Buchanan  8 , Anil K Malhotra  9   10   11 , Meng-Chuan Lai  1   2   3   5   12   13   14 , Aristotle N Voineskos  1   2   3 , Stephanie H Ameis  1   2   3   5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative Analysis of Social Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance Across Autism and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Ayesha G Rashidi et al. Schizophr Bull. .

Abstract

Background and hypothesis: Social cognitive and neurocognitive performance is impacted in autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). Here, we compared social cognitive and neurocognitive performance across a large transdiagnostic sample of participants with autism, SSDs, and typically developing controls (TDCs).

Study design: Participants (total N = 584; autism N = 100, SSDs N = 275, TDCs N = 209; aged 16-55 years; 61% male assigned at birth) completed lower-level (eg, emotion processing) and higher-level (eg, theory of mind) social cognitive tasks, the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, and a measure of social functioning. Nonparametric groupwise comparisons were undertaken, adjusting for age and sex, and within-group correlations were used to examine associations between social cognition, neurocognition, and social functioning.

Study results: Autistic and SSD groups performed worse than TDCs on lower- and higher-level social cognitive tasks, with few autism-SSD differences found. Autism and SSDs had lower neurocognitive scores than TDCs; SSDs demonstrated lower processing speed, working memory, verbal learning, and visual learning versus autism. Positive associations between social cognitive tasks and neurocognition were observed across groups, and self-reported measures of empathy were consistently correlated with social functioning.

Conclusions: This study represents the largest transdiagnostic comparison of both social cognition and neurocognition in an autism/SSD sample reported to date. Autistic participants and those with SSDs showed similar performance on lower- and higher-level social cognitive tasks relative to controls, while neurocognition was less impacted in autism versus SSDs. These findings underscore the importance of transdiagnostic research into the mechanisms underlying social cognitive deficits and highlight the potential for developing transdiagnostic interventions.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; neurocognition; schizophrenia spectrum disorder; social cognition; social functioning.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial relationships or other conflicts of interest to disclose. L.D.O. receives grant support from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF). I.M.-E. was supported by the Labatt Family Network for Research on the Biology of Depression. C.H. receives grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation. E.W.D. has received funding from BBRF, NIMH, CIHR, and CAMH Foundation. J.-C.Y. receives grant support from the Discovery Fund of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). P.S. is supported by CIHR, the Academic Scholars award from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and receives royalties from Guilford Press and Simon & Schuster. P.D. is currently supported by CIHR, CAMH Discovery Fund Seed Funding, Innovation Fund of the Alternative Funding Plan for the Academic Health Sciences Centres of Ontario, and Academic Scholar Award from Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. R.W.B. has consulted for Boehringer-Ingelheim, serves on the Data Safety and Monitoring Boards of Roche, Merck, and Newron, and has served on the Advisory Boards of Merck, Acadia, Karuna, and Neurocrine. A.K.M. receives grant support from the NIMH (R01 MH109508, R01 MH108654, R61 MH120188). M.-C.L. receives funding from the CIHR (PJT-173351, PJT-180620, GSB-171373), the Academic Scholars Award from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and CAMH Foundation. A.N.V. currently receives funding from the NIMH (1/3R01 MH102324, 1/5R01 MH114970), CIHR, Canada Foundation for Innovation, CAMH Foundation, and University of Toronto. S.H.A. currently receives funding from the NIMH (R01 MH114879), CIHR, the Canada Research Chairs Program, University of Toronto, and the CAMH Foundation.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Patterns of Social Cognitive and Neurocognitive Performance Across Participants with Autism or SSDs and Typically Developing Controls. Z-scores are shown for social cognitive and neurocognitive performance data in autism (Aut; circles), schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs; squares), and typically developing control (TDC; triangles) groups. Social cognitive composite scores, subscores, total scores of interest, and neurocognitive composite and MCCB domain scores were standardized into Z-scores using the mean and standard deviation of the control group to facilitate comparisons. The top panel displays social cognitive performance, including the social cognitive composite score and the following: The Awareness of Social Inference (TASIT) Parts 1, 2, and 3 subscores (SSAR: simple sarcasm; PSAR; paradoxical sarcasm), Empathic Accuracy (EA) task scores, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) total scores, Penn Emotion Recognition test (ER-40) total and emotion-specific scores, and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). The bottom panel shows neurocognitive composite and domain-specific scores from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Values represent mean scores and error bars represent standard errors. Variables showing significant main effects in Kruskal–Wallis comparisons are bolded (see Tables 2 and 3 for details). Significant differences between autism and SSDs groups are denoted with an asterisk (*).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Correlations Between Social Cognition and Neurocognition and Social Functioning in Autism (Aut) or Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSDs) and Typically Developing Control (TDC) groups. Social cognitive tasks included: The Awareness of Social Inference (TASIT) Parts 1, 2, and 3 subscores, Empathic Accuracy (EA) task scores, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) total scores, Penn Emotion Recognition test (ER-40) total and emotion-specific scores, and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) subscale scores. Neurocognitive composite was calculated using a subset of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) scores and social functioning was estimated by the Birchwood Social Functioning Scale (BSFS) total score. Correlations were calculated using Spearman’s rank correlations. Adjustments for sex were included via partial correlations if necessary (see Figure S10). S = adjusted for sex. The intensity of the color corresponds to the strength of the correlation. Significant correlations are marked with asterisks (*P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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