Recognition of facial emotion expressions and perceptual processes in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

BACKGROUND: Social cognition (SC) deficits and of its facial emotion expression (FEE) component have been described in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS), a high‐risk for schizophrenia (SCZ) systemic genetic syndrome. Correlations between deficits in FEE skills and visual‐spatial abilities in people with 22q11.2DS warrant investigation. METHODS: The sample consisted of 37 patients with 22q11.2DS (DEL), 19 with 22q11.2DS and psychosis (DEL‐SCZ), 23 with idiopathic SCZ, and 48 healthy controls. We assessed FEE through The Ekman 60 Faces test (EK‐F60), visual‐spatial skills with Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, and symptom severity with the positive And negative syndrome scale. Statistics were conducted through multivariate analysis of variance and correlation analysis. RESULTS: Patients with 22q11.2DS performed worse that the other groups in recognizing Surprise, Disgust, Rage, Fear, and Neutral expressions on the EK‐F60. Recognition of Surprise and Disgust correlated positively with visual‐spatial abilities in patients with 22q11.2DS; negative and cognitive symptoms correlated negatively with recognition of Sadness, Surprise, and Disgust. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with 22q11.2DS show impairments of both peripheral and central steps of the emotional recognition process, leading to SC deficits. The latter are present regardless of the presence of a full‐blown psychosis.