Cognitive Functioning and Social Impairment in Psychosis Risk
Summary
Individuals at heightened risk of psychosis frequently exhibit subtle but pervasive deficits in neurocognitive domains—such as attention, memory and executive functioning—that precede the onset of frank psychotic symptoms. Alongside these neurocognitive impairments, difficulties in social cognition and broader social functioning emerge early, undermining interpersonal relationships and daily activities. Negative symptoms, including avolition and social withdrawal, often fluctuate with environmental context and further erode functional capacity. Together, these cognitive and social impairments form a prodromal profile that can predict clinical trajectories, inform early intervention strategies and guide tailored remediation approaches. By characterising patterns of decline or stability across developmental stages and situational contexts, researchers aim to enhance detection of those most likely to transition to psychosis and to bolster resilience through targeted cognitive and social training.
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Cognitive Functioning and Social Impairment in Psychosis Risk publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in cognitive functioning and social impairment in psychosis risk across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Clinical high risk (CHR): A prodromal state marked by attenuated psychotic symptoms and functional decline, indicating elevated risk of developing a psychotic disorder.
Neurocognition: The set of mental processes that underlie perception, memory, attention, processing speed and executive functions.
Social cognition: The ability to process, interpret and respond to social information, including emotion recognition and theory of mind.
Negative symptoms: A cluster of deficits such as reduced motivation, blunted affect and social withdrawal that impair daily functioning.
References
- Longitudinal change in neurocognitive functioning in children and adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis: a systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2023).
- Environmental context predicts state fluctuations in negative symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis. Psychological Medicine (2023).
- Investigation of social and cognitive predictors in non-transition ultra-high-risk’ individuals for psychosis using spiking neural networks. Schizophrenia (2023).
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