Clinical convergence of autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease: The case of social cognition

This chapter will first briefly review some key clinical characteristics and symptomatology of each of these diagnoses. Second, it will be suggested that the clinical convergence of these three diagnoses lies mainly in the cognitive sphere, especially in the realm of social cognition. Third, social cognition—a complex series of highly phylogenetically preserved processes that are used to interpret social interaction—will be discussed. Forth, research studies and their metaanalyses regarding impairments in social cognition—along with brain areas associated with them—will be reviewed for each of the three diagnoses. Finally the chapter will review the existing pharmacological research treatment studies—along with metaanalysis of these studies—targeting social cognitive impairments in ASD and schizophrenia, suggesting that such pharmacological treatments, based on the repurposing of existing drugs may transcend diagnostic boundaries.