Alterations in brain activation during cognitive empathy are related to social functioning in schizophrenia.

ABSTRACT: Impaired cognitive empathy (ie, understanding the emotional experiences of others) is associated with poor social functioning in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear whether the neural activity underlying cognitive empathy relates to social functioning. This study examined the neural activation supporting cognitive empathy performance and whether empathy-related activation during correctly performed trials was associated with self-reported cognitive empathy and measures of social functioning. Thirty schizophrenia outpatients and 24 controls completed a cognitive empathy paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neural activity corresponding to correct judgments about the expected emotional expression in a social interaction was compared in schizophrenia subjects relative to c

SUBMITTER: Smith MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4266286 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature