Objective: This study investigated social cognition, neuropsychological functioning and mood disorder in CD.

Background: CD is a hyperkinetic movement disorder of unknown cause. Although historically considered a pure movement disorder, it has been shown that patients with CD (PwCD) have increased frequencies of anxiety and depression compared with neurologically healthy controls. Evidence suggests that there may also be mild neuropsychological differences in CD cohorts. Social cognition is a multidimensional construct of particular interest in CD. Its interconnected components may include: emotional face recognition, Theory of Mind, social learning, biological motion perception, and empathy. Preliminary studies suggest social cognitive difficulties may be evident in CD. We hypothesised that an increased frequency of mood disorder in PwCD may be related to disordered processing of subcortical salient emotional stimuli.

Method: 32 patients aged 33-80 years (M=9; F=23) attending the Dystonia Botulinum Toxin Clinic at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin took part. Severity of the condition was assessed using the Comprehensive Cervical Dystonia Rating Scale (CCDRS). A neuropsychological assessment battery of standardised measures was administered to examine mood and a range of neuropsychological areas. Preliminary analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 24.0.

Results: The mean score for anxiety was 8.65 (SD=4.73) and the mean score for depression was 5.16 (SD=3.77) (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS). Using the cut-off 7+, the percentages of elevated anxiety and depression in the total sample were 64% and 40%, respectively. A mean cognitive empathy score of 59.86 (SD=8.17) and a mean affective empathy score of 34.66 (SD=6.36) was found (Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy). The mean FSIQ-2 standardised score was 89.13 (SD=17.34). This suggests a low average range within this population. In terms of social cognition, a mean total score of 24.03 (SD=5.81) in the Reading the Minds in the Eyes test was reported.

Conclusion: Very limited research currently exists in neuropsychological functioning, social cognition and mood in PwCD. This initial exploratory analysis suggests increased frequencies of mood and variability in neuropsychological and social cognitive performance. Further data will be presented to explore this relationship in more detail.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/social-cognition-neuropsychological-functioning-mood-disorder-in-cervical-dystonia-cd/