From social neurons to social cognition: implications for schizophrenia research

Şizofreni terimi, heterojen belirtilerle karakterize bir hastalık grubunu kapsar. Hastaların sosyal kaybının önemli bir bölümünden sorumlu olan metakognitif işlev bozukluğunu da kapsayan kötü sosyal biliş, tüm şizofreni fenotiplerinde vardır. Metakognitif işlevsellik, temporal ve parietal loblardaki alanlar kadar prefrontal korteksin önemli alanları gibi beynin birçok bölgesine yaygın şekilde dağılan ayrı bir sinir ağı ile desteklenmektedir. Şizofrenideki metakognisyon sinir ağındaki işlev bozukluğu daha önceden iyi tanımlanmış olmakla birlikte, altta yatan sinirsel bağlantılar yalnızca kısmen anlaşılabilmiştir. Bu gözden geçirme, primat evrimi boyunca gelişen iki ayrı hücre popülasyonuna odaklanmıştır: ayna nöronlar ve von Economo nöronları. Ampirik kanıtlar bize, bu hücre tiplerinin sosyal biliş ve metakognitif işlevsellik konusunda özel bir rolü olduğunu düşündürtmektedir. Bununla birlikte, sadece yakın zamandaki çalışmalar bunların şizofrenideki potansiyel rollerini tanımlayabilmiştir. Ayna nöron işlevlerine yönelik araştırmaların bazı eksikliklerine rağmen, bunların işlevsel özelliklerinin etkilendiği ve şizofrenideki anormal taklit davranışına katkıda bulunduğu fikri akla yatkın görünüyor. Şizofreninin patofizyolojisinde yer alan von Economo nöronlarının potansiyel etkisi hala yeterince açık değildir, fakat gelecek araştırmalar, belki bu yıkıcı hastalık grubunun doğasını daha iyi anlamamıza yardımcı olabilir.

Sosyal nöronlardan sosyal kognisyona: Şizofreni araştırmalarına etkileri

The term schizophrenia embraces a group of disorders that are characterised by a heterogeneous set of symptoms. Poor social cognition, including metacognitive dysfunction is present across all schizophrenia phenotypes, accounting for a large proportion of patients’ social impairment. Metacognitive functioning is subserved by a distinct neural network of widely distributed regions of the brain, foremost areas of the prefrontal cortex, as well as, areas in the temporal and parietal lobes. While dysfunction of the metacognition neural network in schizophrenia has been well documented, the underlying neuronal correlates are only partially understood. This review focuses on two distinct cell populations that evolved during primate evolution: The mirror neurons, and the von Economo neurons. Empirical evidence suggests that these cell types have a special role in social cognition and metacognitive functioning. However, only recent studies have addressed their potential role in schizophrenia. In spite of current paucity of research on mirror neuron function in schizophrenia, it seems plausible to suggest that their functional properties are compromised, and contribute to aberrant imitation behaviour in schizophrenia. The potential impact of von Economo neurons in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is even less clear, but future research may help to better understand the nature of this devastating group of disorders.

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