Assessment Of Social Cognition Research Articles

Youth Identity Development on the Basis of Traditional Kazakh Folk Music

This study strived to determine the most popular music genre among young Kazakhs in the context of personal, social, and national identity development, specify the relationship between musical preferences and personality type, and disclose the level of influence of traditional Kazakh folk music on the identity of the Kazakh youth. The authors conducted a survey and a test by taking advantage of such research methods as sociological survey, statistical analysis, social phenomena cognition (assessment, analogy tracking, comparison), psychological and typological concepts of Jung, as well as Abulkhanova-Slavskaya’s methodology for revealing personality traits. As a result of the investigation, hip-hop and rap were identified as the most popular music genres among the respondents (42.2%). Analysis of the data obtained in accordance with Abulhanova-Slavskaya’s personality typology revealed that 89% of the respondents preferring blues/jazz, classical music, and folk music demonstrated personality traits corresponding to the reflexive personality type; 91% of punk/rock and heavy metal fans showed conformity to the contemplative personality type; 87.5% of pop-music lovers were attributed the harmonious personality type; 93.5% of hip-hop and rap music fans – the productive personality type; 84% of traditional music fans – the performing type; and 96% of fans of pop with folk tunes – the functional type. It was also uncovered that 89% of the respondents who preferred traditional music belonged to the sensitive personality type characterized by impressionability, openness, empathy, alertness, firmness, conscientiousness, and, at the same time, inferiority complexes, and a tendency to psychogenic depressions and phobias.

A comparison of the neuropsychological profile of children who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and autistic children. Differences in social cognition and the relevance to assessment and diagnosis

This article explores the neuropsychological profile of autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. These distinct conditions can have a similar presentation, and there is increasing interest in distinguishing between the neurobehavioural presentations as part of assessment and diagnosis. Although there are similarities in the neurodevelopmental profile of autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, there are discreet differences in social cognition that may be useful to consider during assessment. This article argues that neuropsychological assessment of social cognition, as well as executive functions including inhibitory control, will be useful when considering a diagnosis, as these factors may underpin differences caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, or autism. Research in this area is in its infancy, and more investigation is needed.

Mentalizing deficits in borderline personality disorder related to axis I comorbidity: Clinical relevance.

Deficits in mentalization have been described in several mental disorders, but information is still scarce and ambiguous about the types of mentalization errors in each disorder and their specificity and severity in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Due to the high comorbidity between this disorder and axis I disorders, the aim of this work is to study differences in mentalization responses in BPD considering the different comorbidity profiles with other disorders. A total of 141 BPD patients were evaluated using The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), to identify comorbid axis I disorders. Mentalizing ability was assessed by the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC). Statistical associations were analysed into the different variables. Patients with comorbid BPD and anorexia nervosa (AN), suicidal behaviour disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) respectively presented higher overmentalization, undermentalization and absence of mentalization errors, compared with patients with BPD without comorbidity. Results show that BPD comorbidity with AN, suicidal behaviour disorder and PTSD affect to the types and severity of mentalizing deficits observed in these patients. This study highlights the importance of the assessment and treatment of axis I comorbid disorders in borderline personality disorder, with the objective of shaping personalized treatment for every patient.

Multidimensional assessment of social cognition using non-immersive virtual reality in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Introduction Few studies have focused on social cognition in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), even though some brain structures being well known as underlying social cognitive processes are directly impacted in this disease. Furthermore, social cognition processes have been mostly studied independently using evaluations with poor ecological validity. We aimed at studying the ability of a new naturalistic and multidimensional social cognition task to reveal impairments in DLB patients. We chose to compare the profile of these patients with that of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, for which social cognition is better preserved. Method Fifteen patients (DLB: n = 7; AD: n = 8) and 28 healthy controls underwent the REALSoCog task. They encountered several social situations (e.g. control versus transgressions) in a non-immersive virtual city environment allowing the assessment of moral cognition, cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM), emotional empathy and behavioral intentions. Results The main results showed (i) a lower ability to detect transgressions in DLB patients, particularly conventional ones, whereas moral cognition seemed better preserved in AD patients; (ii) a cognitive ToM impairment in both DLB and AD patients, while affective ToM is impaired only in DLB patients; (iii) a decreased emotional empathy specifically observed in DLB patients; (iv) more inappropriate behavioral intentions, mainly in DLB patients, but also in some AD patients. Conclusions This study suggests the feasibility and potential interest of the REALSoCog task in revealing social cognition deficits, particularly for DLB patients by showing different social patterns as compared to AD patients. These results offer interesting clinical perspectives to develop more naturalistic tasks in such populations and for clinical differential diagnosis. Limitations and future perspectives are discussed.

It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner's theory of mind abilities as well as your own.

We investigated the relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and communicative cooperation. Specifically, we examined whether communicative cooperation is affected by the ToM ability of one's cooperative partner as well as their own. ToM is the attribution of mental states to oneself and others; cooperation is the joint action that leads to achieving a shared goal. We measured cooperation using a novel communicative cooperation game completed by participants in pairs. ToM was measured via the Movies for Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) task and fluid intelligence via the Raven task. Findings of 350 adults show that ToM scores of both players were predictors of cooperative failure, whereas Raven scores were not. Furthermore, participants were split into low- and high-ToM groups through a median split of the MASC scores: high-ToM individuals committed significantly fewer cooperative errors compared to their low-ToM counterparts. Therefore, we found a direct relationship between ToM and cooperation. Interestingly, we also examined how ToM scores of paired participants determine cooperation. We found that pairs with two high-ToM individuals committed significantly fewer errors compared to pairs with two low-ToM individuals. We speculate that reduced cooperation in low-low ToM pairs is a result of less efficient development of conceptual alignment and recovery from misalignment, compared to high-high ToM dyads. For the first time, we thus demonstrate that it is not all about you; both cooperative partners make key, independent, contributions to cooperative outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Theory of mind in chronic migraine with medication overuse assessed with the MASC

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer one's own and others' mental states. Growing research indicates that ToM is impaired in Chronic Migraine with Medication Overuse (CM + MO). However, the research in this field has been conducted using static scenario-based tasks, often failing to test mentalization in everyday situations and measuring only performance accuracy. We filled this gap by administering the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) to subjects with CM + MO compared to episodic migraine (EM). This test allows us to assess both affective and cognitive ToM and which, in addition to being accurate, also analyzes the type of error in attribution of mental states, distinguishing between hypo-mentalization and hyper-mentalization. Thirty patients suffering from CM + MO and 42 from EM were enrolled. Results showed that CM + MO patients were less accurate in mental state attribution than EM. In addition, compared to EM, CM + MO individuals were more impaired in the affective ToM dimensions and committed more errors of hypo-mentalization. In conclusion, the application of MASC in patients with CM + MO allowed for the detection of an alteration in their ability to correctly draw conclusions about other people's mental states. This latter contributes critically to appropriate social reactions and also, possibly, to satisfactory social interactions.

Effects of age on behavioural and eye gaze on Theory of Mind using movie for social cognition.

Evidence has shown that older adults have lower accuracy in Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks compared with young adults, but we are still unclear whether the difficulty in decoding mental states in older adults stems from not looking at the critical areas, and more so from the ageing Asian population. Most ToM studies use static images or short vignettes to measure ToM but these stimuli are dissimilar to everyday social interactions. We investigated this question using a dynamic task that measured both accuracy and error types, and examined the links between accuracy and error types to eye gaze fixation at critical areas (e.g., eyes, mouth, body). A total of 82 participants (38 older, 44 young adults) completed the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) task on the eye tracker. Results showed that older adults had a lower overall accuracy with more errors in the ipo-ToM (under-mentalising) and no-ToM (lack of mentalisation) conditions compared with young adults. We analysed the eye gaze data using principal components analysis and found that increasing age and looking less at the face were related to lower MASC accuracy in our participants. Our findings suggest that ageing deficits in ToM are linked to a visual attention deficit specific to the perception of socially relevant nonverbal cues.

Decreased oxytocin levels related to social cognition impairment in borderline personality disorder.

Dysfunctions in the oxytocin system have been reported in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Deficits could be related to interpersonal hypersensitivity, which has been previously associated with failures in social cognition (SC) in this disorder, especially in Theory of Mind (ToM) skills. The aim of this work is to study the links between the oxytocin system and SC impairments in patients with BPD. Plasma oxytocin levels (OXT) and protein expression of oxytocin receptors in blood mononuclear cells (OXTR) were examined in 33 patients with a diagnosis of BPD (age: M 28.85, DT = 8.83). Social cognition was assessed using the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC). Statistical associations between biochemical factors and different response errors in MASC were analyzed through generalized linear regression controlling for relevant clinical factors. Generalized linear regression showed a significant relationship between lower OXTR and overmentalization in BPD patients (OR = 0.90). This work supports the relationship between alterations in the oxytocin system and ToM impairments observed in BPD patients, enhancing the search for endophenotypes related to the phenotypic features of the disorder to improve current clinical knowledge and address more specific therapeutic targets.

A multi-method study of interpersonal complementarity and mentalization

Research finds cross-sectional relationships between mentalizing impairments and maladaptive personality traits. The current study connects mentalizing impairments to dynamic interpersonal processes using a multi-method design. A sample of 218 participants completed the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC; Dziobek et al., 2006) to assess mentalizing ability. Subsequently, participants rated their agentic and communal behavior and their perception of interaction partners’ agentic and communal behavior over 21-days. Mentalizing ability moderated the within-person relationship between behavior and perception for both agency and communion. Worse performance on the MASC was associated with weaker interpersonal complementarity, suggesting that mentalizing impairments lead to deviations from expected patterns of behavior and perception across interpersonal situations. These findings confirm the assumption of Contemporary Integrative Interpersonal Theory that mentalization impairments can disrupt normative interpersonal processes (Cain et al., 2024; Pincus & Hopwood, 2012).

Social cognition in women with borderline personality disorder based on an exhaustive analysis of the Movie for Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) categories.

A significant number of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms are manifested in the interpersonal context. This can be explained by the difficulties in attributing the mental states of oneself and others, which constitutes social cognition. Errors in social cognition are interrelated with the affective, cognitive, impulsive, and interpersonal areas of the person with BPD. The aims of this study was to analyze social cognition in women with BPD compared with a control group and to analyze social cognition in BPD based on BPD symptoms and its severity. To assess social cognition, we used a full range of social cognition categories provided by the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC): correct theory of mind (ToM); attribution of mental states (thoughts, emotions, or intentions); errors of mentalization; types of ToM; and attribution of mental states through perceptive or cognitive cues and through hot or cold emotions. The MASC has high ecological validity and has been validated in Spanish. The sample comprised 79 women, including 47 women with BPD and 32 healthy women. Worse social cognition performance was observed in women with BPD. More severe borderline symptoms were related to worse functioning in the correct ToM and to errors of no mentalization. Involvement of the cognitive area in borderline symptoms was associated with worse functioning in correct ToMand worse social cognition in cognitive areas as well as with hypermentalization. This is the first study that uses all the MASC categories and considers BPD heterogeneity and its severity to study social cognition.

Patterns of executive functions and theory of mind in adults with a family history of alcohol use disorder: Combined group and single-case analyses.

Impairments in executive function and social cognition are highly prevalent in individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Some studies show that similar difficulties are displayed by individuals with a positive family history of AUD (FH+) compared with individuals with a negative family history (FH-). Yet, no studies have jointly investigated cognitive and affective theory of mind at the behavioral level. Moreover, some studies show preserved executive and socioemotional functioning in FH+ participants. One possible explanation for these divergent results is that FH+ individuals are cognitively heterogeneous. In this study, we examined the frequency and co-occurrence of difficulties in executive function and social cognition among FH+ individuals at the individual level. Sixty FH+ and 60 FH- participants matched on age, sex, and education level were included. They completed tasks assessing executive functions (Stroop, Trail Making Test) and affective and cognitive theory of mind (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). They also completed self-report questionnaires measuring impulsivity, alexithymia, and empathy. Single-case analyses assessed the proportion of FH+ participants with difficulties in executive function and/or theory of mind. FH+ individuals exhibited difficulties in response inhibition and made more errors during theory of mind processing, indicating an absence of mental state representation, compared with FH- individuals. In the FH+ sample, 53.33% had executive function and/or theory of mind difficulties. Those with lower theory of mind scores reported higher alexithymia and lower empathy on self-report measures. FH+ individuals display heterogeneous executive function and theory of mind abilities. Given that they mostly occur independently of one another, executive function and theory of mind difficulties may be distinct vulnerability markers in AUD.

Sex differences in social cognition among individuals with schizophrenia and in healthy control participants: a secondary analysis of published data.

Sex differences are present among individuals experiencing schizophrenia. Whether these differences extend to social cognition is unclear. In this study, we investigated sex differences in emotion perception, socialperception and theory of mind (ToM). We examined sex differences between males and females with schizophrenia on five social cognitive tests. Healthy male and female control participants were included to examine if any sex difference was illness-specific. Emotion perception was measured with Pictures of Facial Affect (PFA) and Emotion in Biological Motion (EmoBio); social perception with the Relationships Across Domains Test (RAD); and ToM with the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) and Hinting Task. Two-way analyses of variance revealed overall group differences for all tests, with healthy controls outperforming individuals with schizophrenia. Significant sex effects were present for PFA and Hinting Task. There were no significant interaction effects. Within-group independent samples t-tests yielded one significant sex difference, i.e., among healthy controls for PFA. Females had better facial emotion perception than males. This sex difference was statistically significant among healthy controls and medium-large among individuals experiencing schizophrenia. There were no significant sex differences for other social cognitive domains. The study did not find evidence for a general female advantage in social cognition.

Association between urban upbringing and functional brain connectivity in schizophrenia.

Environmental factors considerably influence the development of the human cortex during the perinatal period, early childhood, and adolescence. Urban upbringing in the first 15 years of life is a known risk factor for schizophrenia (SCZ). Though the risk of urban birth and upbringing is well-examined from an epidemiological perspective, the biological mechanisms underlying urban upbringing remain unknown. The effect of urban birth and upbringing on functional brain connectivity in SCZ patients is not yet examined. This is a secondary data analysis of three studies that included 87 patients with SCZ and 70 healthy volunteers (HV) aged 18 to 50 years. We calculated the developmental urbanicity index using a validated method in earlier studies. Following standard pre-processing of resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, seed-return on investment (ROI) functional connectivity analysis was performed. The results showed a significant association between urban birth and upbringing on functional connectivity in SCZ patients and HV (P < 0.05). In SCZ patients, connections from the right caudate, anterior cingulate cortex, left and right intracalcarine cortices, left and right lingual gyri, left posterior parahippocampal cortex to the cerebellum, fusiform gyri, lateral occipital cortex, and amygdala were significantly associated with the urbanicity index (P < 0.05). These study findings suggest a significant association between urban birth and upbringing on functional brain connectivity in regions involved in reward processing and social cognition in SCZ. Assessment of social cognition could have implications in developing an in-depth understanding of this impairment in persons with SCZ.

Systematic Review of the Link Between Social Cognition and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in People With Serious Mental Illness.

People with serious mental illness (SMI; psychotic and affective disorders with psychosis) are at an increased risk of suicide, yet there is limited research on the correlates of suicide in SMI. Social cognitive impairments are common among people with SMI and several studies have examined social cognition and suicidal ideation (SI) and behavior. This systematic review aims to evaluate the links between various domains of social cognition, SI, and suicidal behavior in SMI. Electronic databases (PubMed and PsycInfo) were searched through June 2023. Records obtained through this search (N = 618) were screened by 2 independent reviewers according to inclusion criteria. Relevant data were extracted, and study quality was assessed. Studies (N = 16) from 12 independent samples were included in the systematic review (N = 2631, sample sizes ranged from N = 20 to N = 593). Assessments of social cognition and SI and behavior varied widely between studies. Broadly, effects were mixed. Better emotion recognition of negative affect was linked to SI and a history of suicide attempts, though there is little consistent evidence for the relationship of emotion recognition and SI or behavior. On the other hand, better theory of mind ability was linked to SI and a history of suicide attempts. Furthermore, negative attributional bias was linked to current SI, but not a history of SI or attempt. This review suggests mixed associations between social cognition, SI, and behavior in SMI. Future research should evaluate additional mediators and moderators of social cognition and suicide, employing prospective designs.

Exploring Inter-Brain Electroencephalogram Patterns for Social Cognitive Assessment During Jigsaw Puzzle Solving.

Social interaction enables the smooth progression of our daily lives. Mounting evidence from recent hyperscanning neuroimaging studies indicates that key components of social behavior can be evaluated using inter-brain oscillations and connectivity. However, mapping out inter-brain networks and developing neurocognitive theories that explain how humans co-create and share information during social interaction remains challenging. In this study, we developed a jigsaw puzzle-solving game with hyperscanning electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded to investigate inter-brain activities during social interactions involving cooperation and competition. Participants were recruited and paired into dyads to participate in the multiplayer jigsaw puzzle game with 32-channel EEG signals recorded. The corresponding event-related potentials (ERPs), brain oscillations, and inter-brain functional connectivity were analyzed. The results showed different ERP morphologies of P3 patterns in competitive and cooperative contexts, and brain oscillations in the low-frequency band may be an indicator of social cognitive activities. Furthermore, increased inter-brain functional connectivity in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands was observed in the competition mode compared to the cooperation mode. By presenting comparable and valid hyperscanning EEG results alongside those of previous studies using traditional paradigms, this study demonstrates the potential of utilizing hyperscanning techniques in real-life game-playing scenarios to quantitatively assess social cognitive interactions involving cooperation and competition. Our approach offers a promising platform with potential applications in the flexible assessment of psychiatric disorders related to social functioning.

Discrepancy of social cognition between bipolar disorders and major depressive disorders.

The research landscape examining social cognition (SC) impairment in patients with major depressive disorders (MDD) and bipolar disorders (BD) is notably scarce. Presently, assessments predominantly rely on static stimuli and self-reported measures, which may not capture the dynamic dimensions of social cognition. This study aimed to validate the Chinese version of Movie Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC-CH) and to investigate whether MDD and BD exhibit distinct patterns of SC impairments, shedding light on potential differences between these two mood disorders. The study encompassed 197 participants, aged 18-65, distributed as follows: 21 BD, 20 MDD, and 156 healthy controls (HC). We focused on examining "cognitive" and "emotional" SC scores and "undermentalizing" and "overmentalizing" error patterns, with nonsocial inference as a control. Additional assessments included the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). We also explored the association between depression severity (measured by the Hamilton Depressive Rating Scale, HDRS) and distinct SC dimensions between MDD and BD. The MASC-CH exhibited strong validity and reliability for SC assessment. In group comparisons, BD participants scored significantly lower on MASC-CH, while the MDD group scores were not significantly different from HC. Specifically, BD individuals had notably lower cognitive SC scores and made more undermentalizing and absence of mentalizing errors than MDD and HC. Additionally, a negative correlation between HDRS score and overmentalizing was observed in BD, not in the MDD. The findings indicate that depression severity scores in BD were inversely related to MASC-CH scores. In contrast, this relationship was not observed in the MDD group. These results underscore the importance of SC impairments as distinguishing characteristics of both BD and MDD. It provides valuable insights into the distinct social-cognitive profiles of both mood disorders.

SOCIAL BRIDGING NETWORKS AND COGNITIVE AGING AMONG OLDER ADULTS: ORIGINS IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS, ROLES, AND ACTIVITIES

Abstract There is a strong link between social connectedness and cognitive aging, with recent research pointing to social bridging being a primary underlying mechanism. Social bridging may provide cognitive enrichment through interactions with expansive, heterogeneous, and loosely interconnected social networks of weaker, peripheral ties. Drawing on egocentric social network data and cognitive assessments of 436 older adults from the Social Networks and Alzheimer’s Disease (SNAD) study, this paper explores where social bridging networks come from. We used multivariate regression to examine whether a latent social bridging factor comprised of six structural variables (network size, density, effective size, diversity, strength of weakest tie, and sole bridging status) was associated with cognitive function and social conditions. Results indicate that social bridging is significantly associated with global cognitive function (B= 0.19; p&amp;lt;.0001), verbal memory (B=0.26; p&amp;lt;.0001), and episodic memory (B=0.21; p&amp;lt;.0001), consistent with prior studies. Older adults who are women (b=0.40; p&amp;lt;.001) and have more years of education (b=0.05; p&amp;lt;.05) have more access to social bridging. Among community and housing characteristics, only perceived community integration is significantly correlated with higher bridging (b=0.22; p&amp;lt;.05). With respect to social roles, being currently married (b=0.39; p&amp;lt;.001) and being a volunteer (b=0.58; p&amp;lt;.0001) were positively associated with bridging, while being a veteran predicted lower bridging (b=-0.86; p&amp;lt;.0001). Among indicators of social engagement, only number of contacts in one’s phone (in 100’s) was associated with bridging (b=.16; p&amp;lt;.0001). Findings provide insight into social roles and activities that can be leveraged to expand bridging and improve cognitive aging outcomes.

Social cognition deficits in borderline personality disorder: Clinical relevance

Interpersonal difficulties in borderline personality disorder (BDP) have been suggested to be related to impairments in Social Cognition (SC), mainly due to deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM). However, literature is scarce and ambiguous. This work aims to study the SC impairments in BPD patients, by the specific assessment of ToM deficits, and to investigate the relationship between these SC impairments and clinical variables. 82 BPD patients with BPD and 47 control subjects were assessed with the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC). Clinical variables of severity, chronicity, functionality and anxious-depressive symptomatology were recorded. BPD patients had fewer correct mentalization responses and more overmentalization, undermentalization, and absence of mentalization errors than controls. Chronicity was negatively correlated with overmentalization and positively correlated with undermentalization and absence of mentalization errors. Functionality was indirectly correlated with absence of mentalization. These results confirm previous reports of alterations in SC in BPD patients. Furthermore, this study shows that SC impairments in patients with BPD are dependent on characteristics such as chronicity or degree of functionality. The different ToM profiles in patients with BPD indicate the necessity of developing variants of mentalization therapy depending on the deficits of each patient.

Heterogenous factors modulate social cognition across diverse settings in brain health and disease

AbstractBackgroundSocial cognition dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases such as the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is typically ascribed to the underlying pathophysiological processes spanning specific atrophy and connectivity alterations. However, social cognition performance might be modulated by a set of more heterogenous, non‐specific factors, including demographics (sex, age, education, socioeconomic status), general cognitive and executive abilities, and behavior inside the scanner (i.e., movements), but their relative contribution is poorly understood. Here, we develop a machine learning approach to characterize multimodal factors that explain the inter‐individual heterogeneity of social cognition in a diverse multicentric sample.MethodA total of 998 individuals &gt; 50 years from international research networks in high‐ and middle‐income countries participated in this study: 102 with bvFTD, 339 with AD, 96 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 461 with preserved cognition (with and without cognitive complaints). Social cognition was assessed with the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment (MiniSEA) battery, which includes tests of facial emotion recognition and theory of mind. After data harmonization, we implemented support vector regressions combined with bootstrapping to predict social cognition outcomes from multimodal features, including diagnosis, demographics, cognitive and executive functions, grey matter volume, fMRI resting‐state network connectivity, and movement artifacts, and assessed their relative contribution to performance (Figure 1). Models were assessed with the coefficient of determination R², Fisher’s F test, Cohen’s F², 95% confidence intervals, and p‐values.ResultGeneral cognitive and executive functions and years of education consistently emerged among the top predictive features of social cognition performance and explained more variance than diagnosis. Other features making significant contributions were: sex, the gray matter volume of relevant regions, and in‐scanner movements. Age and resting‐state network connectivity did not make any significant contribution to performance heterogeneity (Figure 2).ConclusionSocial cognition performance was more strongly predicted by a set of heterogenous individual differences than by neurodegenerative diagnoses and associated brain signatures. Diagnoses might relate to complex profiles. Results highlight a critical modulator role of heterogeneity on social cognition, with implications for the neuropsychological assessment in brain health and disease across diverse, multi‐setting populations.

The Multidimensional Autonomy Scale: a new integrative tool for clinicians and preliminary results

AbstractBackgroundAutonomy is the ability to perform daily living actions within the environment where we live in (Dos Santos &amp; Makdessi, 2010). It is a multidimensional concept, including 5 dimensions: psychological, functional, professional, digital and social autonomy (Dethoor et al., 2021). However, most studies mainly focused on functional autonomy. In this study we focused on social autonomy (SA) within an integrative approach.MethodsWe built an integrative tool, the Multidimensional Autonomy Scale (MAS), to assess the 5 dimensions of autonomy. The MAS includes 26 questions, divided in 5 sub‐scales for each autonomy dimension, for which we ask frequency and impact on daily life.In this study, we focused on SA and its relation with empathy and theory of mind among young (18‐40 years), intermediate (40‐60 years), and elderly participants (60‐80 years). We assessed empathy and theory of mind with the Social‐SMAF and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC).ResultsWe found a decrease of theory of mind through aging, but no social autonomy change nor correlation between theory of mind and social autonomy.ConclusionThe decrease of theory of mind might be correlated with other dimensions of social cognition or autonomy. Older participants seem to have less relationships, but not worse, even better sometimes. We encourage clinicians and researcher to assess autonomy within a multidimensional framework and go beyond functional autonomy only.