Yang Liuqing, Li Peifu, Mao Haiying, Wang Huiling, Shu Chang, Bliksted Vibeke, Zhou Yuan
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China.
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2017 May 5;17(1):168. doi: 10.1186/s12888-017-1313-3.
Using paradigms from game theory, researchers have reported abnormal decision-making in social context in patients with schizophrenia. However, less is known about the underpinnings of the impairment. This study aimed to test whether theory of mind (ToM) deficits and/or neurocognitive dysfunctions mediate impaired social decision-making in patients with schizophrenia.
We compared thirty-five patients with schizophrenia to thirty-eight matched healthy controls with regard to social decision-making using the mini Ultimatum Game (mini UG), a paradigm from game theory. Additionally, we assessed ToM using the Theory of Mind Picture Stories Task, a mental state attribution task, and assessed neurocognition using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia. Mediation analyses were performed on the data.
In contrast to the behavioral pattern of healthy controls in the mini UG, the patients with schizophrenia significantly accepted more disadvantageous offers and rejected more advantageous offers, and showed reduced sensitivity to the fairness-related context changes in the mini UG. Impaired ToM and neurocognition were also found in the patients. Mediation analyses indicated that ToM but not neurocognition partially mediated the group differences on the disadvantageous and advantageous offers in the mini UG.
Patients with schizophrenia exhibited impaired social decision-making. This impairment can be partly explained by their ToM deficits rather than neurocognitive deficits. However, the exact nature of the ToM deficits that mediate impaired social decision-making needs to be identified in future.
运用博弈论范式，研究人员报告了精神分裂症患者在社会情境中的异常决策。然而，对于这种损害的潜在机制知之甚少。本研究旨在测试心理理论（ToM）缺陷和/或神经认知功能障碍是否介导了精神分裂症患者受损的社会决策。
我们使用迷你最后通牒博弈（mini UG）这一博弈论范式，比较了35名精神分裂症患者和38名匹配的健康对照者在社会决策方面的表现。此外，我们使用心理理论图片故事任务（一种心理状态归因任务）评估ToM，并使用精神分裂症认知简短评估来评估神经认知。对数据进行中介分析。
与迷你UG中健康对照者的行为模式不同，精神分裂症患者显著接受了更多不利提议并拒绝了更多有利提议，并且对迷你UG中与公平相关的情境变化的敏感性降低。患者还存在ToM和神经认知受损的情况。中介分析表明，ToM而非神经认知部分介导了迷你UG中不利和有利提议上的组间差异。
精神分裂症患者表现出受损的社会决策。这种损害部分可由他们的ToM缺陷而非神经认知缺陷来解释。然而，介导受损社会决策的ToM缺陷的确切性质有待未来确定。
