Cited by 278Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesFace Recognition and Perception

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 267 of the 268 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 1 are not checked yet; none of the 196 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Systematic review of the neural basis of social cognition in patients with mood disorders

Open access

Abstract

Background: This review integrates neuroimaging studies of 2 domains of social cognition — emotion comprehension and theory of mind (ToM) — in patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The influence of key clinical and method variables on patterns of neural activation during social cognitive processing is also examined. Methods: Studies were identified using PsycINFO and PubMed (January 1967 to May 2011). The search terms were “fMRI,” “emotion comprehension,” “emotion perception,” “affect comprehension,” “affect perception,” “facial expression,” “prosody,” “theory of mind,” “mentalizing” and “empathy” in combination with “major depressive disorder,” “bipolar disorder,” “major depression,” “unipolar depression,” “clinical depression” and “mania.” Results: Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. These results reveal an overall lack of inhibition by higher-order cognitive structures on limbic and emotion-related structures during social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders. Critically, key variables, including illness burden, symptom severity, comorbidity, medication status and cognitive load may moderate this pattern of neural activation. Limitations: Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review. Conclusion: Further work is needed to examine the contribution of key moderator variables and to further elucidate the neural networks underlying altered social cognition in patients with mood disorders. The neural networks underlying higher-order social cognitive processes, including empathy, remain unexplored in patients with mood disorders.

Checked 2026-10-05 · 1 reference not checked yet

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1503/jpn.100179

Cites

267 of 268 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 196 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 101 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 42
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 12
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  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The reviewed studies are sufficiently comparable in methods, tasks, and samples to be combined into a single pattern of neural activation.

    “Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    fMRI activation in the brain regions examined is a valid index of social cognitive processing.

    “Given that most studies using neuroimaging technology to examine the neural correlates of social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders rely on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we focused our review on this paradigm.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The included studies without control tasks or comparator groups still provide valid evidence for the review's conclusions.

    “Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The functional neuroimaging measures used in the reviewed studies validly index the neural activity underlying social cognitive processing.

    “Alterations in social cognitive functioning in patients with mood disorders are likely related to alterations in patterns of neuronal activation observed during performance of these tasks.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The theory of mind tasks used in the reviewed studies validly measure theory of mind ability.

    “A small number of studies conducted in actively depressed patients with MDD suggest that these patients show impairments on ToM tasks that involve decoding mental states from available information, such as facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures and reasoning 232-234”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The core theory of mind network identified in healthy individuals applies to patients with mood disorders.

    “These regions have been shown previously to have strong functional connectivity with the temporoparietal junction and superior temporal sulcus, 241 regions thought to be crucial to ToM.”
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Claims other papers make about this one

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Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Study showing elevated DLPFC activation is cited for decreased activation

    Minor

    The paper describes study 68 as finding elevated DLPFC activation in euthymic patients, but later includes that study among citations supporting decreased DLPFC activity.

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 11

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Metadata

Authors
Cusi, A. M., Nazarov, A., Holshausen, K., MacQueen, G. M., & McKinnon, M. C.
Affiliations
University of Calgary (CA)
Venue
Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Published
2012-05
Volume
37
Issue
3
Pages
154-169
ISSN
  • 1180-4882 (ISSN-L)
  • 1488-2434
OpenAlex
W2104541524
Cited by
278
References
265
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 7
FWCI
1.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
social cognition, mood disorders, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, emotional understanding, theory of mind, mentalization, empathy, facial expressions, prosody, limbic system, frontal cortex, emotion regulation, moderators, disease burden, symptom severity, comorbidities, medication status, cognitive load
MeSH terms
Affect, Age Factors, Bipolar Disorder, Cognition, Major Depressive Disorder, Facial Expression, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Psychotherapy, Social Behavior, Comorbidity, Cost of Illness, Mood Disorders, Theory of Mind

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