Might Autobiographical Memory Be the Best Predictor of Affective Theory of Mind in Schizophrenia and in the General Population?

INTRODUCTION:Although many studies have explored theory of mind (ToM) deficits in schizophrenia, it is crucial to consider individual variations in neurocognitive and emotional functioning in subjects with schizophrenia. The purpose of the current study was to test the predictive value of several neurocognitive and emotional processes in ToM deficits, including autobiographical memory (AM, examining separately the impact of its semantic and episodic components), executive functioning, attentional capacity and facial emotion expressions (FEE) recognition abilities. METHODS:Thirty participants with schizophrenia were recruited, as well as 30 control participants, matched on age, sex and level of education. All participants were assessed on measures of ToM, AM, executive functioning, attentional resources and FEE recognition. RESULTS:Compared to control participants, participants with schizophrenia achieved poorer performances on tasks involving AM and ToM abilities. Multiple regression analyses revealed that episodic AM is the strongest predictor of ToM deficits in both groups. Additionally, some of the emotional and executive measures emerged as significant predictors, albeit to a lesser extent. CONCLUSIONS:The most noticeable finding of our study relates to the significant contribution of AM in ToM performance. This finding was evidenced in both participants with schizophrenia and control participants.