The neural correlates of social-communicative perception in patients with schizophrenia, major depression und bipolar disorder: Disorder specific and disorder-unspecific aspects of the comprehension, recognition and interpretation of verbal and non-verbal information

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Tilo Kircher; Professor Benjamin Straube, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Biological Psychiatry
• Term: from 2010 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 163083563

Patients with schizophrenia (SZ), major depression (MD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are characterized by impairments in multimodal semantic and socio-cognitive communicative processes. The disorder- and syndrome-specific and trans-diagnostic value of these dysfunctions and related neural correlates are unknown. In the proposed project three important levels of social communicative functioning (see Ochsner, 2008; Biol. Psychiatry) will be investigated using fMRI: 1) The comprehension of non-verbal information, 2) the recognition of social-affective information and 3) the interpretation of social cues.In the first funding period (DFG GZ: Ki 588/6-1), in patients with schizophrenia we could show that the paranoid, disorganized and negative syndrome was specifically associated with activation in perceptual and social-emotional brain regions, differentially for Ochsners three constructs. Until to date, all data have been acquired and analysed. Nine peer-reviewed research articles have already been published and seven additional publications are currently in preparation. Four bachelor- and two masters theses have been completed. A. Nagels, who worked as PostDoc in the project could finish his Habilitation and principal investigator B. Straube was appointed DFG Heisenberg-Professor.In the proposed project, 60 patients with DSM IV SZ, MD, BD and healthy control subjects will be included. By means of SAPS / SANS, HAMD and YMRS a syndromal characterisation will be performed (paranoid, disorganized, negative, manic, depressed). The subjects will be examined with three fMRI paradigms, each of which reflects one of Ochsners communication levels. In the paradigms different video clips, in which an actor speaks and gesticulates, are used. The videos have been designed, validated and used in patients with SZ during the first funding period.Extending the first funding period, disorder- and syndrome-specific and disorder-unspecific effects are expected. Across the categorical diagnostic groups we expect that 1) the negative syndrome correlates with reduced activation in perceptual brain regions, that 2) the disorganised syndrome correlates with temporal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity and 3) the paranoid syndrome correlates during interpretation of social cues with ACC, posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral temporo-parietal regions. The depressive and manic syndrome are expected to be associated with temporal and limbic activations.This project is an important extension of the first funding period, since it 1) validates prior evidence for patients with SZ, it allows to infer 2) diagnosis specific (SZ, MD, BD), 3) diagnosis unspecific and 4) syndrome specific outcomes regarding social-communicative functioning. The results will provide a new pathophysiological insight onto the most relevant mental disorders and clinical syndromes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants