Patients with schizophrenia usually show an impairment in their communicative-pragmatic performance; they also have difficulties in cognitive functioning and Theory of Mind (ToM). In the literature it has been proposed that ToM and cognitive deficits have a role in explaining the communicative-pragmatic difficulties of patients with schizophrenia. However, the exact interplay of these functions is still not completely clear. The present research investigates the relationship between communicative-pragmatic, ToM and cognitive impairments (i.e. general intelligence, selective attention, speed processing and EF -working memory, inhibition and flexibility-) in a sample of 26 individuals with schizophrenia and matched controls. The linguistic and extralinguistic scales of the Assessment Battery of Communication (ABaCo), and a series of ToM and cognitive tasks were administered to patients and healthy controls. The results showed that individuals with schizophrenia performed less well than controls in all the tasks investigated. However, a hierarchical regression analysis showed that only ToM, and not cognitive functions, seems to be a predictive variable of patients’ performance. Finally, a Fisher's exact test showed that there was not a stable significant relationship between ToM or EF and pragmatic impairment.

Cognitive abilities and theory of mind in explaining communicative-pragmatic disorders in patients with schizophrenia

Parola A.;Berardinelli L.;Bosco F. M.
2018-01-01

Abstract

Patients with schizophrenia usually show an impairment in their communicative-pragmatic performance; they also have difficulties in cognitive functioning and Theory of Mind (ToM). In the literature it has been proposed that ToM and cognitive deficits have a role in explaining the communicative-pragmatic difficulties of patients with schizophrenia. However, the exact interplay of these functions is still not completely clear. The present research investigates the relationship between communicative-pragmatic, ToM and cognitive impairments (i.e. general intelligence, selective attention, speed processing and EF -working memory, inhibition and flexibility-) in a sample of 26 individuals with schizophrenia and matched controls. The linguistic and extralinguistic scales of the Assessment Battery of Communication (ABaCo), and a series of ToM and cognitive tasks were administered to patients and healthy controls. The results showed that individuals with schizophrenia performed less well than controls in all the tasks investigated. However, a hierarchical regression analysis showed that only ToM, and not cognitive functions, seems to be a predictive variable of patients’ performance. Finally, a Fisher's exact test showed that there was not a stable significant relationship between ToM or EF and pragmatic impairment.
2018
260
144
151
www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres
Communication disorders; Executive functioning; Mindreading; Pragmatics; Schizophrenia; Theory of mind; Adult; Cognitive Dysfunction; Communication Disorders; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Schizophrenia; Theory of Mind
Parola A.; Berardinelli L.; Bosco F.M.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
BOSCO2018Cognitive.pdf

Accesso riservato

Tipo di file: PDF EDITORIALE
Dimensione 261.19 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
261.19 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Schizo&FE_Sent.pdf

Accesso aperto

Descrizione: articolo principale
Tipo di file: PREPRINT (PRIMA BOZZA)
Dimensione 718.13 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
718.13 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1653039
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 15
  • Scopus 43
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 40
social impact