Cai Renliang, Zhu Zaochen, Li Yan, Fang Jin, Wu Chaoran, Hu Yunshan, Zhang Shaotong, Zhou Chao, Yang Xiandong, Fang Xinyu, Zhang Xiangrong
Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Psychiatry, Beijing Anding Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University Wuhu Hospital, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 26;16:1623147. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1623147. eCollection 2025.
This study aimed to investigate the complex relationships between negative symptoms, cognitive function, and social functioning in chronic male patients with schizophrenia, identifying core symptoms to lay a theoretical foundation for targeted interventions aimed at negative symptoms in this population.
A total of 161 male schizophrenia patients were included, categorized into deficit syndrome (DS) and non-DS groups using the Chinese version of the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS). Social functioning was assessed with the Scale of Social Function in Psychosis Inpatients (SSPI), while a battery of neurocognitive tests measured cognitive domains, including sustained attention, cognitive flexibility, ideation fluency, and visuospatial memory. Network analysis was employed to construct an integrated network of negative symptoms, cognitive function, and social functioning, aiming to identify the most central and bridge symptoms within these networks.
Our study indicated that DS patients performed worser in cognitive function and social functioning than non-DS patients. The network analysis demonstrated that "intensity of pleasure during activities (B1)" in the negative symptoms was the most central node. The most prominent bridge node was SSPI, with impact indices of 0.55.
Our findings provided evidence revealing a closer connection between negative symptoms, cognitive function, and social functioning. In light of these findings, precise targets for pharmacological treatment, psychotherapy and physical therapy are identified for patients with schizophrenia.
本研究旨在调查慢性男性精神分裂症患者的阴性症状、认知功能和社会功能之间的复杂关系，确定核心症状，为针对该人群阴性症状的靶向干预奠定理论基础。
共纳入161例男性精神分裂症患者，使用中文版缺陷综合征量表（SDS）分为缺陷综合征（DS）组和非DS组。采用精神病住院患者社会功能量表（SSPI）评估社会功能，同时通过一系列神经认知测试测量认知领域，包括持续注意力、认知灵活性、思维流畅性和视觉空间记忆。采用网络分析构建阴性症状、认知功能和社会功能的综合网络，旨在识别这些网络中最核心和桥梁性的症状。
我们的研究表明，DS患者在认知功能和社会功能方面的表现比非DS患者更差。网络分析表明，阴性症状中的“活动期间的愉悦强度（B1）”是最核心的节点。最突出的桥梁节点是SSPI，影响指数为0.55。
我们的研究结果提供了证据，揭示了阴性症状、认知功能和社会功能之间更紧密的联系。根据这些发现，为精神分裂症患者确定了药物治疗、心理治疗和物理治疗的精确靶点。
