S51. ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL COGNITION AS A PREDICTIVE FACTOR OF PSYCHOSIS IN 22Q11 DELETION SYNDROME (DS). DATA FROM THE MULTICENTER STUDY OF THE ITALIAN NETWORK FOR RESEARCH ON PSYCHOSES

BACKGROUND: 22q11DS is the most important genetic risk factor for schizophrenia: up to 28% of these subjects develop psychosis in adulthood. At present this syndrome represents the strongest biological model to investigate neurobiological underpinnings of schizophrenia. We expected Theory of Mind impairments in subjects at risk for psychosis (22q11DS) and more severe impairments in subjects with an established psychotic disorder. Furthermore we sought to investigate eventual correlations between social cognition and self-esteem levels, hypothesizing that both would be impaired in psychotic groups. METHODS: Data come from Italian Network for Research on Psychoses for the Schizophrenic (SCZ, N=260) and Control groups (HC, N=111). 22q11DS psychotic (22q11DS_SCZ, N=17) and non-psychotic patients (22q11DS, N=46) were enrolled at Policlinico Umberto I, in Rome. The Awareness and Social Inference Test (TASIT) and Self-Esteem Rating Scale (SERS) were administered. RESULTS: The three main TASIT variables, Emotion Recognition, Minimal Social Inference and Enriched Social Inference, showed no different scores between the three clinical groups, which were significantly lower respect to the control group. The SERS total score showed no significant differences between clinical groups but was for all three significantly lower than control group score. No significant correlation was observed between SERS and TASIT scores for clinical groups. DISCUSSION: Social Cognition impairments are present in 22q11DS at the same extent as in idiopathic schizophrenia, and thus they represent an endophenotype of psychosis. A low Self-Esteem, even though associated to psychosis, does not affect neurocognitive process, impaired on a neurobiological basis.