Schizophrenia and Autism as Contrasting Minds: Neural Evidence for the Hypo-Hyper-Intentionality Hypothesis

Both schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by mentalizing problems and associated neural dysfunction of the social brain. However, the deficits in mental state attribution are somehow opposed: Whereas patients with SCZ tend to over-attribute intentions to agents and physical events ("hyper-intentionality”), patients with autism treat people as devoid of intentions ("hypo-intentionality”). Here we aimed to investigate whether this hypo-hyper-intentionality hypothesis can be supported by neural evidence during a mentalizing task. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated the neural responses and functional connectivity during reading others intention. Scanning was performed in 23 individuals with ASD, 18 with paranoid SCZ and 23 gender and IQ matched control subjects. Both clinical groups showed reduced brain activation compared to controls for the contrast intentional vs physical information processing in left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) for SCZ, and right pSTS in ASD. As predicted, these effects were caused in a group specific way: Relative increased activation for physical information processing in SCZ that was also correlated with positive PANNS score and relative decreased activation for intentional information processing in ASD. Additionally, we could demonstrate opposed connectivity patterns between the right pSTS and vMPFC in the clinical groups, ie, increased for SCZ, decreased for ASD. These findings represent opposed neural signatures in key regions of the social brain as predicted by the hyper-hypo-intentionality hypothesi

A Comparison between Schizophrenia and Autism

Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia share a substantial number of etiologic and phenotypic characteristics. Still, no direct comparison of both disorders has been performed to identify differences and commonalities in brain structure. In this voxel based morphometry study, 34 patients with autism spectrum disorder, 21 patients with schizophrenia and 26 typically developed control subjects were included to identify global and regional brain volume alterations. No global gray matter or white matter differences were found between groups. In regional data, patients with autism spectrum disorder compared to typically developed control subjects showed smaller gray matter volume in the amygdala, insula, and anterior medial prefrontal cortex. Compared to patients with schizophrenia, patients with autism spectrum disorder displayed smaller gray matter volume in the left insula. Disorder specific positive correlations were found between mentalizing ability and left amygdala volume in autism spectrum disorder, and hallucinatory behavior and insula volume in schizophrenia. Results suggest the involvement of social brain areas in both disorders. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and to quantify the amount of distinct and overlapping neural correlates in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia

Multiple-Brain connectivity during third party punishment: an EEG hyperscanning study

Compassion is a particular form of empathic reaction to harm that befalls others and is accompanied by a desire to alleviate their suffering. This altruistic behavior is often manifested through altruistic punishment, wherein individuals penalize a deprecated human's actions, even if they are directed toward strangers. By adopting a dual approach, we provide empirical evidence that compassion is a multifaceted prosocial behavior and can predict altruistic punishment. In particular, in this multiple-brain connectivity study in an EEG hyperscanning setting, compassion was examined during real-time social interactions in a third-party punishment (TPP) experiment. We observed that specific connectivity patterns were linked to behavioral and psychological intra- and interpersonal factors. Thus, our results suggest that an ecological approach based on simultaneous dual-scanning and multiple-brain connectivity is suitable for analyzing complex social phenomena

Synergy of the mirror neuron system and the mentalizing system in a single brain and between brains during joint actions

Cooperative action involves the simulation of actions and their co-representation by two or more people. This requires the involvement of two complex brain systems: the mirror neuron system (MNS) and the mentalizing system (MENT), both of critical importance for successful social interaction. However, their internal organization and the potential synergy of both systems during joint actions (JA) are yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to examine the role and interaction of these two fundamental systems-MENT and MNS-during continuous interaction. To this hand, we conducted a multiple-brain connectivity analysis in the source domain during a motor cooperation task using high-density EEG dual-recordings providing relevant insights into the roles of MNS and MENT at the intra- and interbrain levels. In particular, the intra-brain analysis demonstrated the essential function of both systems during JA, as well as the crucial role played by single brain regions of both neural mechanisms during cooperative activities. Specifically, our intra-brain analysis revealed that both neural mechanisms are essential during Joint Action (JA), showing a solid connection between MNS and MENT and a central role of the single brain regions of both mechanisms during cooperative actions. Additionally, our inter-brain study revealed increased inter-subject connections involving the motor system, MENT and MNS. Thus, our findings show a mutual influence between two interacting agents, based on synchronization of MNS and MENT systems. Our results actually encourage more research into the still-largely unknown realm of inter-brain dynamics and contribute to expand the body of knowledge in social neuroscience

A novel approach to measure brain-to-brain spatial and temporal alignment during positive empathy

: Empathy is defined as the ability to vicariously experience others' suffering (vicarious pain) or feeling their joy (vicarious reward). While most neuroimaging studies have focused on vicarious pain and describe similar neural responses during the observed and the personal negative affective involvement, only initial evidence has been reported for the neural responses to others' rewards and positive empathy. Here, we propose a novel approach, based on the simultaneous recording of multi-subject EEG signals and exploiting the wavelet coherence decomposition to measure the temporal alignment between ERPs in a dyad of interacting subjects. We used the Third-Party Punishment (TPP) paradigm to elicit the personal and vicarious experiences. During a positive experience, we observed the simultaneous presence in both agents of the Late Positive Potential (LPP), an ERP component related to emotion processing, as well as the existence of an inter-subject ERPs synchronization in the related time window. Moreover, the amplitude of the LPP synchronization was modulated by the presence of a human-agent. Finally, the localized brain circuits subtending the ERP-synchronization correspond to key-regions of personal and vicarious reward. Our findings suggest that the temporal and spatial ERPs alignment might be a novel and direct proxy measure of empathy

Repetitive negative thinking in university students with Specific Learning Disorder: does gender matter?

Objective: To date, the literature on repetitive negative thinking (RNT), rumination and worry, in students with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is still scant. This study seeks to deeply examine those variables in university students with and without SLD, focusing on the differences between males and females. Method: A survey was administered to 107 university students between 18 and 31 years (mean age=21,56; SD=2,60). Of these, 65 were typically developing (TD) and 42 had a diagnosis of SLD. Participants responded to the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and the Penn-State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Anxious and depressive symptoms were also assessed. Results: Significant differences were found between university students with and without SLD on all the scales except for PSWQ. Regression analyses reported that rumination significantly affected depression and anxiety whereas worry seemed to have a role only in anxiety. Finally, female students with SLD showed higher levels of internalizing symptoms among all the subjects. Conclusions: The results give psychologists a greater understanding of RNT in university students with SLD, suggesting the importance of including those psychological processes in the clinical assessment

The Mediation Role of Emotion Regulation in the Relationship Between Anxiety and Depression in University Students with Specific Learning Disorder

Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with a range of emotional disorders, such as anxiety disorders and depression. However, the mechanisms that underpin this relationship are still unclear. Moreover, little is known about emotion regulation in university students with specific learning disorder (SLD). This study examined emotion regulation and its role as mediator in the relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms in a group of university students with and without SLD. Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine Italian university students between 18 and 31 years of age were enrolled. Fifty students had a diagnosis of SLD and seventy-nine were typically developing students (TD). The data were obtained from a cross-sectional study conducted as part of a broader research project investigating the well-being of university students. Participants completed questionnaires for emotion regulation (DERS), anxiety (BAI), and depression (BDI). Results: In comparison to the group without SLD, the participants with SLD self-reported more frequent emotional regulation problems and more symptoms of anxiety and depression. SLD students also reported more difficulties in three domains of emotion regulation (nonacceptance, strategies, and clarity). Moreover, in both SLD and TD students, emotion regulation was found to mediate the association between anxiety and depression. Conclusions: The study suggests the importance of promoting adaptive emotion regulation strategies in university students with SLD and incorporating emotion regulation as a clinical target into existing interventions