Symposia at the 2017 ESCAP Congress (Geneva) on 22q11 Deletion Syndrome, organized by the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research – Synapsy.
Social impairments across the psychosis continuum
Marco Armando, Maude Schneider, Ania Fiksinski, Carrie Bearden.
Summary:
Social impairments are an important source of disability in patients affected with a psychotic disorder and are also present in patients at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Furthermore, it has been shown that social deficits represent a risk factor for the development of positive symptoms of psychosis.
In this symposium, we will cover the topic of social impairments in different populations across the psychosis continuum: patients with attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS), patients affected by the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) – a genetic condition associated with increased risk for the development of psychosis – and patients with a first psychotic episode (FEP).
First, Dr. Armando will talk about metacognitive awareness in patients with APS or FEP, which represents an important function for navigating smoothly in the social world due to its links with self-regulation. Dr. Bearden will then present her work on social cognition in patients with 22q11DS and its relation to the emergence of psychotic symptoms. She will also discuss the specific brain alterations that are associated with social cognitive impairments in this population. Thirdly, Mrs. Fiksinski will explore the association between early social impairments (autism spectrum disorder symptoms) and the development of psychosis in a longitudinal study of patients with 22q11DS. Finally, Dr. Schneider will present a feasibility study as well as preliminary results about the effectiveness of an online social skills training intervention in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS.
