Social Cognition and Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Social cognition (SC) impairment can contribute to everyday life difficulties in multiple sclerosis (MS). Studies tend to show that facial emotion recognition and generally emotion processing are impaired in MS. Only one study failed to show impairment in facial emotion recognition, but MS patients had a slow emotional processing. Deficits in cognitive and affective inferences about mental states of others have also been demonstrated in various heterogeneous groups and with various methodologies used to assess theory of mind. The relationship of cognitive impairment with SC impairment is still discussed. Results from functional imaging studies in MS suggested that there is brain dysfunction in areas previously demonstrated as key regions for emotional processing (ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, left anterior insula, limbic area). Results concerning morphological MRI studies, brain lesion volumes, and cortical thinning are still very preliminary, but one study suggested that cortical thinning in some regions of the brain correlated with emotion recognition test and mentalizing tasks. Results concerning correlation of SC with brain lesions are conflicting. Morphological and functional MRI studies are still limited in this area, and more studies are needed for a better understanding of these impairments.