Narrative skills in autism and schizophrenia: a window on the relationship between the two pathologies
Abstract
The relationship between autism and schizophrenia has always been very controversial. Recently researchers have individuated 8 models of co-occurrence between the two pathologies. In this paper we will briefly describe them and we will analyze the explanatory possibilities of those most supported by the scientific literature: the ‘associate liabilities’ model and the ‘diametrical’ model. Those who support this latter model consider the patient's cognitive profile as a useful data for understanding the relationship between the two pathologies and find elements of diametrality in it. In this study we aim to contribute to the debate by evaluating the characteristics of narrative skills in the two clinical populations. From our analysis it emerged that a characteristics very important that has been considered diametrical, the relationship between hyper- and hypo- mentalization, should actually be reread in the light of a more general anomaly in the patient's relation with lived reality. The other features of the narrative, on the other hand, did not show a diametrical configuration between the two pathologies.
References
Abu-Akel, Ahmand M., Wood, Stephen J., Hansen, Peter C., & Apperly, Ian A. (2015) «Perspective-taking abilities in the balance between autism tendencies and psychosis proneness», in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282, 1808, 20150563.
American Psychiatric Association (2013), Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, Arlington, VA.
Arnett, Anne B., Beighley, Jennifer S., Kurtz‐Nelson, Evangeline C., Hoekzema, Kendra, Wang, Tianyun, Bernier, Raphe A., & Eichler, Evan E. (2020), «Developmental predictors of cognitive and adaptive outcomes in genetic subtypes of autism spectrum disorder», in Autism Research, 13, 10, pp. 1659-1669.
Baixauli, Immaculada, Colomer, Carla, Roselló, Belén, & Miranda, Ana (2016),
«Narratives of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: A meta- analysis», in Research in Developmental Disabilities, 59, pp. 234-254.
Bleuler, Eugen (1911), Dementia praecox oder Gruppe der Schizophrenien, F. Deuticke, Leipzig und Wien, 420 Seiten. Erstdruck.
Buck, Benjamin, & Penn, David L. (2015), «Lexical characteristics of emotional narratives in schizophrenia: relationships with symptoms, functioning, and social cognition», in The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 203, 9, p. 702.
Cardella, Valentina (2018), Language and schizophrenia: Perspectives from psychology and philosophy, Routledge, New York .
Carroll, Liam S., Owen, Michael J. (2009), «Genetic overlap between autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder», in Genome medicine, 1, 10, pp. 1-7.
Chaves, Monica, Mota, Natália, Ribeiro, Sidarta, Copelli, Mario, Rodrigues, Cilene (2020), «M190. Use of null pronouns in schizophrenia», in Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46, Suppl 1, S208.
Chien, Yi-Ling, Wu, Chi-Shin S., Tsai, Hhui-Ju (2021), «The comorbidity of schizophrenia spectrum and mood disorders in autism spectrum disorder», in Autism Research, 14, 3, pp. 571-581.
Chisholm, Katharine, Lin, Ashleigh, Abu-Akel, Ahmad, Wood, Stephen J. (2015), «The association between autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A review of eight alternate models of co-occurrence», in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 55, pp. 173- 183.
Chrobak, Quin M., & Zaragoza, Maria S. (2013), «When forced fabrications become truth: Causal explanations and false memory development», in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142, 3, p. 827.
Covington, Michael A., He, Congzhou, Brown, Cati, Naçi, Lorina, McClain, Jonathan T., Fjordbak, Bess Sirmon, Semple, James, Brown, John (2005), «Schizophrenia and the structure of language: the linguist's view», in Schizophrenia research, 77, 1, pp. 85-98.
Crespi, Bernard, & Badcock, Christopher (2008), «Psychosis and autism as diametrical disorders of the social brain», in Behavioral and brain sciences, 31, 3, pp. 241-261.
David, Nicole, Aumann, Carolin, Bewernick, Bettina H., Santos, Natacha S., Lehnhardt, Fritz-G., Vogeley, Kai (2010), «Investigation of mentalizing and visuospatial perspective taking for self and other in Asperger Syndrome», in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 3, pp. 290–299.
Fiksinski, Ania M., Breetvelt, Elemi J., Duijff, Sasja N., Bassett, Anne S., Kahn, R. S., Vorstman, Jacob A. S. (2017), «Autism Spectrum and psychosis risk in the 22q11. 2 deletion syndrome. Findings from a prospective longitudinal study» in Schizophrenia research, 188, 59-62.
Fineberg, Sarah Kathryn, Deutsch-Link, Sasha, Ichinose, Megan, McGuinness, T., Bessette, Ana J., Chung, Cindy K., & Corlett, Philip R. (2015), «Word use in first-person accounts of schizophrenia», in The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206, 1, pp. 32-38.
Hamlyn, Jess, Duhig, Michael, McGrath, John, Scott, James (2013), «Modifiable risk factors for schizophrenia and autism—shared risk factors impacting on brain development», in Neurobiology of disease, 53, pp. 3-9.
Heider, Fritz, Simmel, Marianne (1944), «An experimental study of apparent behavior», in The American journal of psychology, 57, 2, pp. 243-259.
Horan, William P., Nuechterlein, Keith H., Wynn, Jonathan K., Lee, Junghee, Castelli, Francesco, Green, Michael F. (2009), «Disturbances in the spontaneous attribution of social meaning in schizophrenia», in Psychological medicine, 39, 4, pp. 635-643.
Karayiorgou, Maria, Simon, Tony J., Gogos, Joseph A. (2010), «22q11. 2 microdeletions: linking DNA structural variation to brain dysfunction and schizophrenia», in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11, 6, pp. 402-416.
Kettle, Jonathan W., O'Brien-Simpson, Laurie, Allen, Nicholas B. (2008), «Impaired theory of mind in first-episode schizophrenia: comparison with community, university and depressed controls», in Schizophrenia research, 99, 1-3, pp. 96-102.
Klin, Ami, Jones, Warren (2006), «Attributing social and physical meaning to ambiguous visual displays in individuals with higher-functioning autism spectrum disorders», in Brain and cognition, 61, 1, pp. 40-53.
Langdon, Robyn, Flynn, Michaela, Connaughton, Emily, & Brüne, Martin (2017),
«Impairments of spontaneous and deliberative mentalizing co‐occur, yet dissociate, in schizophrenia», in British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 4, pp. 372-387.
Li, Tai-Shan, Liu, Chih-Min, Liu, Chen-Chung, Hsieh, Ming H., Lin, Yi Ting, Wang, En Nan, Hwang, Tzung-Jeng, Chou, Tai-Li (2020), «Social cognition in schizophrenia: A network-based approach to a Taiwanese version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test», in Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 119, 1, pp. 439-448.
Newberg, Andrew, Waldman, Mark Robert (2007), Born to believe: God, science, and the origin of ordinary and extraordinary beliefs, Simon and Schuste.
Paganini, Chiara, Gaido, Davide (2013), «Perception in autism: An interactive global research between folk psychology and folk physics», in Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 7, 2, pp. 175–195.
Pennisi, Paola (2016b), «What the autistic style of drawing says about the development of language?», in RSL, Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences, n. 10, anno 5, 2/2016.
Pennisi, Paola (2016), «Inferential abilities and pragmatic deficits in subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorders», in Allan, K., Capone, A., Keckes, I., Pragmemes and theories of language use, Springer, Cham, pp. 749-768.
Pennisi, Paola, Giallongo, Laura, Milintenda, Giusy, Cannarozzo, Michela (2021), «Autism, autistic traits and creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis», in Cognitive Processing, 22, 4, pp. 733-733.
Pennisi, Paola (2011), Immagini dal Mandalari, rappresentazioni ed estetiche della follia tra Otto e Novecento, Edas, Messina 2018.
Reichenberg, Lourie W. (2013), DSM-5 Essentials: The savvy clinician's guide to the changes in criteria, John Wiley & Sons.
Russell, Tamara A., Reynaud, Emanuelle, Herba, Catherine, Morris, Robin, Corcoran, Rhiannon (2006), «Do you see what I see? Interpretations of intentional movement in schizophrenia», in Schizophrenia research, 81, 1, pp. 101-111.
Schneider, Maude, Debbané, Martin, Bassett, Anne S., Chow, Eva W., Fung, Wai Lun Alan, Van Den Bree, Marianne B., Michael Owen, M.D., Ph.D., Kieran C. Murphy, M.D., Ph.D., Maria Niarchou, Ph.D., Wendy R. Kates, Ph.D., Kevin M. Antshel, Ph.D., Wanda Fremont, M.D., Donna M. McDonald-McGinn, M.S., C.G.C., Raquel E. Gur, M.D., Ph.D., Elaine H. Zackai, M.D., Jacob Vorstman, M.D., Ph.D., Sasja N. Duijff, Ph.D., Petra W.J. Klaassen, M.Sc., Ann Swillen, Ph.D., Doron Gothelf, M.D., Tamar Green, M.D., Abraham Weizman, M.D., Therese Van Amelsvoort, M.D., Ph.D., Laurens Evers, M.D., Erik Boot, M.D., Ph.D., Vandana Shashi, M.D., Stephen R. Hooper, Ph.D., Carrie E. Bearden, Ph.D., Maria Jalbrzikowski, Ph.D., Marco Armando, M.D., Ph.D., Stefano Vicari, M.D., Declan G. Murphy, M.D., Opal Ousley, Ph.D., Linda E. Campbell, Ph.D., Tony J. Simon, Ph.D., Stephan Eliez, M.D., and for the International Consortium on Brain and Behavior in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (2014)
«Psychiatric disorders from childhood to adulthood in 22q11. 2 deletion syndrome: results from the International Consortium on Brain and Behavior in 22q11. 2 Deletion Syndrome», in American Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 6, pp. 627-639.
Vorstman, Jacob A., Breetvelt, Elemi J., Thode, Kirstin I., Chow, Eva W., Bassett, Anne
S. (2013), «Expression of autism spectrum and schizophrenia in patients with a 22q11. 2 deletion», in Schizophrenia research, 143, 1, pp. 55-59.
Watson, Andrew R., Defteralı, Çağlia, Bak, Thomas H., Sorace, Antonella, McIntosh, Andrew M., Owens, David G., Eve C. Johnstone, Lawrie, Stephen M. (2012), «Use of second-person pronouns and schizophrenia», in The British Journal of Psychiatry, 200, 4, pp. 342-343.
Works published in RIFL are released under Creative Commons Licence:Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
