Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-28T15:07:47.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social Cognition Impairments in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2011

Audrey Henry ,
Ayman Tourbah ,
Marie-Pierre Chaunu ,
Lucien Rumbach ,
Michèle Montreuil  and
Serge Bakchine
Audrey Henry
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Hôpital Maison Blanche, CHRU de Reims, Reims, France Laboratory of Psychopathology and Neuropsychology, University Paris 8, Paris, France
Ayman Tourbah
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Hôpital Maison Blanche, CHRU de Reims, Reims, France
Marie-Pierre Chaunu
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Hôpital Maison Blanche, CHRU de Reims, Reims, France
Lucien Rumbach
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Hôpital Jean Minjoz, CHU de Besançon, Besançon, France
Michèle Montreuil
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychopathology and Neuropsychology, University Paris 8, Paris, France
Serge Bakchine*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Hôpital Maison Blanche, CHRU de Reims, Reims, France
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Serge Bakchine, Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Maison Blanche, 45 rue Cognacq Jay, F-51092, Reims, France. E-mail: sbakchine@chu-reims.fr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute independent mental states to self and others to explain and predict behavior. Impairment of ToM is well established in developmental pathologies. In neurological populations, investigation of ToM is still rare but data suggest that ToM impairment could contribute to behavioral and social disturbances. In addition to neurological signs, multiple sclerosis (MS) presents with disorders of cognition and behavior directly related to brain damage. The aim of this study was to assess ToM abilities and recognition of facial emotional expression in adults with MS. We compared 64 patients with relapsing MS and 30 matched healthy controls on three levels of ToM tasks, a facial emotion recognition task, and a neuropsychological assessment. MS patients performed significantly worse than controls in emotion recognition and all ToM tasks (p < .02). These deficits were not correlated with demographic variables or neuropsychological test performance. These findings underscore the importance of assessing ToM and facial recognition in MS, as dysfunction in these areas may impact upon social interaction and, thus, impair quality of life for both patients with MS and their families. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1122–1131)

Keywords

Theory of mindEmotionsWhite matterFaux pasSocial skillsFalse belief
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 17 , Issue 6 , November 2011 , pp. 1122 - 1131
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abu-Akel, A. (2003). A neurobiological mapping of theory of mind. Brain Research Reviews, 43, 29–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adolphs, R. (2001). The neurobiology of social cognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 11, 231–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adolphs, R. (2002). Neural systems for recognizing emotion. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 22, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adolphs, R. (2003). Cognitive neuroscience of human social behavior. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 4(3), 165–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adolphs, R. (2009). The social brain: Neural bases of social knowledge. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 693–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Damasio, H., Damasio, A. (1994). Impaired recognition of emotion in facial expressions following bilateral damage to the human amygdala. Nature, 372(6507), 669–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banati, M., Sandor, J., Mike, A., Illes, E., Bors, L., Feldmann, A., Illes, Z. (2009). Social cognition and Theory of Mind in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Neurology, 17(3), 426–433.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S. (2001). Theory of mind and autism: A review. Special Issue of the International Review of Mental Retardation, 23, 169–184.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a ‘theory of mind’? Cognition, 21, 37–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baron-Cohen, S., O'Riordan, M., Stone, V., Jones, R., Plaisted, K. (1999). Recognition of faux pas by normally developing children and children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 407–418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baron-Cohen, S., Tager-Flusberg, H., Cohen, D. (1993). Understanding other minds: Perspectives from autism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Beck, A., Steer, R., Brown, G. (1996). Manual for the Beck depression inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Beiske, G., Svensson, E., Sandanger, I., Czujko, B., Pedersen, E.D., Aarseth, J.H., Myhr, K.M. (2008). Depression and anxiety among multiple sclerosis patients. European Journal of Neurology, 15(3), 239–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bird, C.M., Castelli, F., Malik, O., Frith, U., Husain, M. (2004). The impact of extensive medial frontal lobe damage on ‘Theory of Mind’ and cognition. Brain, 127, 914–928.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brüne, M., Brüne-Cohrs, U. (2006). Theory of mind-evolution, ontogeny, brain mechanisms and psychopathology. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 30(4), 437–455.Google Scholar
Brunet, E., Sarfati, Y., Hardy-Baylé, M.C., Decety, J. (2000). A PET investigation of the attribution of intentions with a nonverbal task. Neuroimage, 11, 157–166.Google Scholar
Burgess, P., Shallice, T. (1997). The Hayling and Brixton Tests. Test manual. Bury St Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.Google Scholar
Calder, A.J., Keane, J., Lawrence, A.D., Manes, F. (2004). Impaired recognition of anger following damage to the ventral striatum. Brain, 127, 1958–1969.Google Scholar
Callahan, C.D., Schopp, L., Johnstone, B. (1997). Clinical utility of a seven subtest WAIS-R short form in the neuropsychological assessment of traumatic brain injury. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 12(2), 133–138.Google Scholar
Chiaravalloti, N.D., DeLuca, J. (2008). Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis. Lancet Neurology, 7(12), 1139–1151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chwastiak, L.A., Ehde, D.M. (2007). Psychiatric issues in multiple sclerosis. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 30, 803–817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, U.S., Neargarder, S., Cronin-Golomb, A. (2008). Specific impairments in the recognition of emotional facial expressions in Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychologia, 46(9), 2003–2009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Debouverie, M., Pittion, S., Guillemin, F., Vespignani, H. (2002). Fatigue scales used in multiple sclerosis. Revue Neurologique, 158(11), 1139–1143.Google ScholarPubMed
Ekman, P., Friesen, W. (1976). Pictures of the facial affect. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Feinstein, A. (2006). Mood disorders in multiple sclerosis and the effects on cognition. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 245, 63–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fine, C., Lumsden, J., Blair, R.J. (2001). Dissociation between ‘theory of mind’ and executive functions in a patient with early left amygdala damage. Brain, 124, 287–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gainotti, G. (2006). Measures of cognitive and emotional changes in multiple sclerosis and underlying models of brain dysfunction. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 245, 15–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallagher, H.L., Frith, C.D. (2003). Functional imaging of ‘theory of mind’. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(2), 77–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gregory, C., Sinclair, L., Stone, V., Erzinclioglu, S., Martin, L., Baron-Cohen, S., Hodges, J.R. (2002). Theory of mind in patients with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease: Theoretical and practical implications. Brain, 125, 752–764.Google Scholar
Hanks, R.A., Temkin, N., Machamer, J., Dikmen, S.S. (1999). Emotional and behavioral adjustment after traumatic brain injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 80(9), 991–997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heesen, C., Schulz, K.H., Fiehler, J., Von der Mark, U., Otte, C., Jung, R., Gold, S.M. (2010). Correlates of cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 24, 1148–1155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, J.D., Phillips, L.H., Beatty, W.W., McDonald, S., Longley, W.A., Joscelyne, A., Rendell, P.G. (2009). Evidence for deficits in facial affect recognition and theory of mind in multiple sclerosis. Journal of International Neuropsychology Society, 15, 277–285.Google Scholar
José Sá, M. (2008). Psychological aspects of multiple sclerosis. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, 110(9), 868–877.Google ScholarPubMed
Kalb, R. (2007). The emotional and psychological impact of multiple sclerosis relapses. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 256, S29–S33.Google Scholar
Kinsinger, S.W., Lattie, E., Mohr, D.C. (2010). Relationship between depression, fatigue, subjective cognitive impairment, and objective neuropsychological functioning in patients with multiple sclerosis. Neuropsychology, 24, 573–580.Google Scholar
Krause, M., Wendt, J., Dressel, A., Berneiser, J., Kessler, C., Hamm, A.O., Lotze, M. (2009). Prefrontal function associated with impaired emotion recognition in patients with multiple sclerosis. Behavioural Brain Research, 205(1), 280–285.Google Scholar
Kurtzke, J.F. (1983). Rating neurologic impairment in multiple sclerosis: An expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Neurology, 33, 1444–1452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langdon, D.W. (2011). Cognition in multiple sclerosis. Current Opinion in Neurology, 24, 244–249.Google Scholar
Lezak, M.D., Howieson, D.B., Loring, D.W. (2004). Neuropsychological Assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lough, S., Gregory, C., Hodges, J.R. (2001). Dissociation of social cognition and executive function in frontal variant frontotemporal dementia. Neurocase, 7, 123–130.Google Scholar
Lough, S., Kipps, C.M., Treise, C., Watson, P., Blair, J.R., Hodges, J.R. (2006). Social reasoning, emotion and empathy in frontotemporal dementia. Neuropsychologia, 44, 950–958.Google Scholar
McDonald, W.I., Compston, A., Edan, G., Goodkin, D., Hartung, H.P., Lublin, F.D., Wolinsky, J.S. (2001). Recommended diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: Guidelines from the International Panel on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Annals of Neurology, 50, 121–127.Google Scholar
Mengelberg, A., Siegert, R.J. (2003). Is theory-of-mind impaired in Parkinson's disease? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 8(3), 191–209.Google Scholar
Morrow, S.A., Drake, A., Zivadinov, R., Munschauer, F., Weinstock-Guttman, B., Benedict, R.H. (2010). Predicting loss of employment over three years in multiple sclerosis: Clinically meaningful cognitive decline. Clinical Neuropsychology, 24, 1131–1145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ouellet, J., Scherzer, P.B., Rouleau, I., Métras, P., Bertrand-Gauvin, C., Djerroud, N., Duquette, P. (2010). Assessment of social cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16, 287–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perner, J., Wimmer, H. (1985). “John thinks that Mary thinks that…” attribution of second-order false beliefs by 5- to 10-year-old children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 39, 437–471.Google Scholar
Phillips, L.H., Henry, J.D., Scott, C., Summers, F., Whyte, M., Cook, M. (2011). Specific impairments of emotion perception in multiple sclerosis. Neuropsychology, 25, 131–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Premack, D., Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a “theory of mind”? Behavioral Brain Science, 4, 515–526.Google Scholar
Rogers, J.M., Panegyres, P.K. (2007). Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: Evidence-based analysis and recommendations. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 14, 919–927.Google Scholar
Rowe, A.D., Bullock, P.R., Polkey, C.E., Morris, R.G. (2001). ‘Theory of mind’ impairments and their relationship to executive functioning following frontal lobe excisions. Brain, 124, 600–616.Google Scholar
Ruffman, T., Henry, J.D., Livingstone, V., Phillips, L.H. (2008). A meta-analytic review of emotion recognition and aging: Implications for neuropsychological models of aging. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 863–881.Google Scholar
Ryan, J.J., Abraham, E., Axelrod, B.M., Paolo, A.M. (1996). WAIS-R verbal-performance IQ discrepancies in persons with lateralized lesions: Utility of a seven subtest short form. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 11(3), 207–213.Google Scholar
Saltzman, J., Strauss, E., Hunter, M., Archibald, S. (2000). Theory of mind and executive functions in normal human aging and Parkinson's disease. Journal of International Neuropsychology Society, 6, 781–788.Google Scholar
Shaw, P., Lawrence, E., Bramham, J., Brierley, B., Radbourne, A.S. (2007). A prospective study of the effects of anterior temporal lobectomy on emotion recognition and theory of mind. Neuropsychologia, 45(12), 2783–2790.Google Scholar
Smith, M., Arnett, P.A. (2005). Factors related to employment status changes in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis, 11, 602–609.Google Scholar
Snowden, J.S., Bathgate, D., Varma, A., Blackshaw, A., Gibbons, Z.C., Neary, D. (2001). Distinct behavioural profiles in frontotemporal dementia and semantic dementia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 70(3), 323–332.Google Scholar
Snowden, J.S., Gibbons, Z.C., Blackshaw, A., Doubleday, E., Thompson, D., Craufurd, D., Neary, D. (2003). Social cognition in frontotemporal dementia and Huntington's disease. Neuropsychologia, 41, 688–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, V.E., Baron-Cohen, S., Calder, A., Keane, J., Young, A. (2003). Acquired theory of mind impairments in individuals with bilateral amygdala lesions. Neuropsychologia, 41, 209–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stuss, D.T., Gallup, G.G., Alexander, M.P. (2001). The frontal lobes are necessary for ‘theory of mind’. Brain, 124, 279–286.Google Scholar
Ward, L.C. (1990). Prediction of verbal, performance, and full scale IQs from seven subtests of the WAIS-R. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46, 436–440.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1981). WAIS-R manual: Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wimmer, H., Perner, J. (1983). Beliefs about beliefs: Representation and constraining function of wrong beliefs in young children's understanding of deception. Cognition, 13, 103–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, A.W., Perrett, D., Calder, A., Sprengelmeyer, R., Ekman, P. (2002). Facial expressions of emotion: Stimuli and tests (FEEST). Suffolk (UK): Thurston, Thames Valley Test Company.Google Scholar