Barlati Stefano, Minelli Alessandra, Ceraso Anna, Nibbio Gabriele, Carvalho Silva Rosana, Deste Giacomo, Turrina Cesare, Vita Antonio
Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Genetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 28;11:806. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00806. eCollection 2020.
Schizophrenia and autism spectra disorders are currently conceptualized as distinct clinical categories. However, the relationship between these two nosological entities has been revisited in recent years due to the evidence that they share some important clinical and neurobiological features, putting into question the nature and the extent of their commonalities and differences. In this respect, some core symptoms that are present in both disorders, such as social cognitive deficits, could be a primary target of investigation. This review briefly summarizes the commonalities and overlapping features between schizophrenia and autism spectra disorders in social cognitive functions, considering this construct in a Research Domain Criteria perspective. The clinical manifestation of deficits in social cognition are similar in schizophrenia spectrum disorders and autism spectrum disorders, and brain areas that appear to be altered in relation to these impairments are largely shared; however, the results of various studies suggest that, in some cases, the qualitative nature of these alterations may be different in the two spectra. Moreover, relevant differences could be present at the level of brain networks and connections. More research is required in this field, regarding molecular and genetic aspects of both spectra, to better define the neurobiological mechanisms involved in social cognition deficits, with the objective of developing specific and targeted treatments.
精神分裂症和自闭症谱系障碍目前被概念化为不同的临床类别。然而，近年来，由于有证据表明这两种疾病实体具有一些重要的临床和神经生物学特征，它们之间的关系被重新审视，这使得它们的共性和差异的性质及程度受到质疑。在这方面，两种疾病中都存在的一些核心症状，如社会认知缺陷，可能是研究的主要目标。本综述从研究领域标准的角度简要总结了精神分裂症和自闭症谱系障碍在社会认知功能方面的共性和重叠特征。社会认知缺陷的临床表现在精神分裂症谱系障碍和自闭症谱系障碍中相似，且与这些损伤相关的似乎发生改变的脑区在很大程度上是相同的；然而，各种研究结果表明，在某些情况下，这两种谱系中这些改变的性质可能不同。此外，在脑网络和连接层面可能存在相关差异。在这一领域，关于这两种谱系的分子和遗传方面，还需要更多研究，以更好地确定参与社会认知缺陷的神经生物学机制，目标是开发出特定的靶向治疗方法。
