@article{pmid40612642,

title = {Psychometric properties of the Social knowledge test (SKT) and the Combined stories test (COST) in people with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder},

author = {Amélie M Achim and Elisabeth Thibaudeau and Frédéric Haesebaert and Audrey Cayouette and Caroline Cellard},

doi = {10.1016/j.scog.2025.100373},

issn = {2215-0013},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-12-01},

journal = {Schizophr Res Cogn},

volume = {42},

pages = {100373},

abstract = {BACKGROUND: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) often present with impaired social cognition. Among the measures available to assess these deficits, the Combined stories test (COST) and the Social knowledge test (SKT), that respectively target theory of mind (ToM) and social knowledge, have shown promising psychometric properties in prior studies. Test-retest reliability was however only examined in the general population, and the acceptability of these tests was not previously examined. This study aimed to further document the psychometric properties of the COST and the SKT and the acceptability of these tests in people with SSD and community controls (CO).nnMETHODS: Forty-four (44) participants with SSD and 49 CO were administered the COST and SKT twice, about 4 weeks apart, and were asked to rate the acceptability of the tests on a 0 (Very unpleasant) to 10 (Very pleasant) point scale at both timepoints.nnRESULTS: In both groups, the results revealed an excellent inter-rater reliability and a good test-retest reliability for both tests, though the control non-social reasoning measure included in the COST showed poorer test-retest reliability in the SSD group. Some practice effects were observed but the ToM score from the COST and the SKT total score showed no evidence of ceiling effects at either timepoints. The average acceptability scores ranged between 7.8/10 and 8.3/10 for the COST and between 6.8/10 and 7.9/10 for the SKT.nnCONCLUSION: The SKT and the COST present with good psychometric properties, representing good options for future studies or for use in clinical practice.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid40808461,

title = {Being well understood and generating interest during verbal interactions: the role of Theory of Mind and clinical symptoms in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders},

author = {Audrey Cayouette and Caroline Cellard and Marion Fossard and Dominique Knutsen and Marc-André Roy and Maxime Rancourt and Stéphanie D'Amours and Rose Bourget and Laurie Bolduc and Amelie Achim},

doi = {10.1098/rstb.2023.0506},

issn = {1471-2970},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-08-01},

journal = {Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci},

volume = {380},

number = {1932},

pages = {20230506},

abstract = {People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) present with communication impairments. This study aimed to determine whether individuals with SSD make it less easy or interesting to perform a joint task with them relative to community controls (CO), and to examine the link between clinical symptoms and theory of mind (ToM). Fifty-one outpatients with SSD and 68 CO performed the storytelling in sequence task (STST) with an interaction partner. Four raters subsequently listened to the STST audio recordings and scored how easily they could place the images of the narrated stories in the correct order (Facility ratings), how interesting they found the stories (Interest ratings) and how expressive they found the voice (Expressivity ratings). Symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and ToM using the Combined Stories Test. The Facility, Interest and Expressivity ratings were lower in SSD than in CO. In SSD, the Facility ratings were positively associated with ToM and negatively associated with several symptom dimensions. The Interest and Expressivity ratings were strongly linked together and negatively associated with Negative symptoms. ToM deficits in SSD may contribute to difficulties communicating clearly. The strong association between Expressivity and Interesting ratings raises important questions regarding the real-life impacts of reduced expressivity.This article is part of the theme issue 'At the heart of human communication: new views on the complex relationship between pragmatics and Theory of Mind'.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid39867750,

title = {Use of reference markers in the speech of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Evidence from two referential communication tasks manipulating common ground with the interaction partner},

author = {Amélie M Achim and Dominique Knutsen and Marc-André Roy and Souleymane Gadio and Marion Fossard},

doi = {10.1016/j.scog.2024.100343},

issn = {2215-0013},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-06-01},

journal = {Schizophr Res Cogn},

volume = {40},

pages = {100343},

abstract = {INTRODUCTION: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders present with language dysfunctions, yet we know little about their use of reference markers (indefinite markers, definite markers, pronouns or names), a fundamental aspect of efficient speech production.nnMETHODS: Twenty-five (25) participants with a recent-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZ) and 25 healthy controls (HC) completed two referential communication tasks. The tasks involved presenting to an interaction partner a series of movie characters (character identification task) and movie scenes composed of six images (narration task). A manipulation was introduced such that half of the movies could be considered as Likely-Known by the interaction partner, whereas the other half was Likely-Unknown. The analyses focused on the reference markers used to present the movie characters during the tasks.nnRESULTS: During the character identification task, the SZ group used fewer names and more pronouns than the HC. During the narration task, the SZ group used fewer names and more definite references when initially introducing the main story characters, while no group effect emerged for subsequent mentions of the characters. The observed effects of conditions were generally present across both groups, except for a lesser adjustment in the use of definite markers when introducing the story characters.nnCONCLUSIONS: While some group differences emerged, people with SZ were generally sensitive to the manipulation regarding their interaction partner's likely knowledge of the characters. A better understanding of the conditions in which speech production is affected in SZ could help promote more efficient communication.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid39812093,

title = {International perspective on social cognition in schizophrenia: current stage and the next steps},

author = {Silvia Corbera and Matthew M Kurtz and Amélie M Achim and Giulia Agostoni and Isabelle Amado and Michal Assaf and Stefano Barlati and Margherita Bechi and Roberto Cavallaro and Satoru Ikezawa and Hiroki Okano and Ryo Okubo and Rafael Penadés and Takashi Uchino and Antonio Vita and Yuji Yamada and Morris D Bell},

doi = {10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.1776},

issn = {1778-3585},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Eur Psychiatry},

volume = {68},

number = {1},

pages = {e9},

abstract = {In the last decades, research from cognitive science, clinical psychology, psychiatry, and social neuroscience has provided mounting evidence that several social cognitive abilities are impaired in people with schizophrenia and contribute to functional difficulties and poor clinical outcomes. Social dysfunction is a hallmark of the illness, and yet, social cognition is seldom assessed in clinical practice or targeted for treatment. In this article, 17 international experts, from three different continents and six countries with expertise in social cognition and social neuroscience in schizophrenia, convened several meetings to provide clinicians with a summary of the most recent international research on social cognition evaluation and treatment in schizophrenia, and to lay out primary recommendations and procedures that can be integrated into their practice. Given that many extant measures used to assess social cognition have been developed in North America or Western Europe, this article is also a call for researchers and clinicians to validate instruments internationally and we provide preliminary guidance for the adaptation and use of social cognitive measures in clinical and research evaluations internationally. This effort will assist promoting scientific rigor, enhanced clinical practice, and will help propel international scientific research and collaboration and patient care.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid38837509,

title = {Strategies for involving patients and the public in scaling initiatives in health and social services: A scoping review},

author = {Roberta de Carvalho Corôa and Ali Ben Charif and Vincent Robitaille and Diogo G V Mochcovitch and Mamane Abdoulaye Samri and Talagbe Gabin Akpo and Amédé Gogovor and Virginie Blanchette and Lucas Gomes Souza and Kathy Kastner and Amélie M Achim and Robert K D McLean and Andrew Milat and France Légaré and },

doi = {10.1111/hex.14086},

issn = {1369-7625},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-06-01},

journal = {Health Expect},

volume = {27},

number = {3},

pages = {e14086},

abstract = {BACKGROUND: Scaling in health and social services (HSS) aims to increase the intended impact of proven effective interventions. Patient and public involvement (PPI) is critical for ensuring that scaling beneficiaries' interests are served. We aimed to identify PPI strategies and their characteristics in the science and practice of scaling in HSS.nnMETHODS: In this scoping review, we included any scaling initiative in HSS that used PPI strategies and reported PPI methods and outcomes. We searched electronic databases (e.g., Medline) from inception to 5 February 2024, and grey literature (e.g., Google). Paired reviewers independently selected and extracted eligible reports. A narrative synthesis was performed and we used the PRISMA for Scoping Reviews and the Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public (GRIPP2).nnFINDINGS: We included 110 unique reports out of 24,579 records. In the past 5 years, the evidence on PPI in scaling has increased faster than in any previous period. We found 236 mutually nonexclusive PPI strategies among 120 scaling initiatives. Twenty-four initiatives did not target a specific country; but most of those that did so (n = 96) occurred in higher-income countries (n = 51). Community-based primary health care was the most frequent level of care (n = 103). Mostly, patients and the public were involved throughout all scaling phases (n = 46) and throughout the continuum of collaboration (n = 45); the most frequently reported ethical lens regarding the rationale for PPI was consequentialist-utilitarian (n = 96). Few papers reported PPI recruitment processes (n = 31) or incentives used (n = 18). PPI strategies occurred mostly in direct care (n = 88). Patient and public education was the PPI strategy most reported (n = 31), followed by population consultations (n = 30).nnCONCLUSIONS: PPI in scaling is increasing in HSS. Further investigation is needed to better document the PPI experience in scaling and ensure that it occurs in a meaningful and equitable way.nnPATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Two patients were involved in this review. They shared decisions on review questions, data collection instruments, protocol design, and findings dissemination.nnREVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework on 19 August 2020 (https://osf.io/zqpx7/).},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid38428118b,

title = {Speech markers to predict and prevent recurrent episodes of psychosis: A narrative overview and emerging opportunities},

author = {Farida Zaher and Mariama Diallo and Amélie M Achim and Ridha Joober and Marc-André Roy and Marie-France Demers and Priya Subramanian and Katie M Lavigne and Martin Lepage and Daniela Gonzalez and Irnes Zeljkovic and Kristin Davis and Michael Mackinley and Priyadharshini Sabesan and Shalini Lal and Alban Voppel and Lena Palaniyappan},

doi = {10.1016/j.schres.2024.02.036},

issn = {1573-2509},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-04-01},

journal = {Schizophr Res},

volume = {266},

pages = {205--215},

abstract = {Preventing relapse in schizophrenia improves long-term health outcomes. Repeated episodes of psychotic symptoms shape the trajectory of this illness and can be a detriment to functional recovery. Despite early intervention programs, high relapse rates persist, calling for alternative approaches in relapse prevention. Predicting imminent relapse at an individual level is critical for effective intervention. While clinical profiles are often used to foresee relapse, they lack the specificity and sensitivity needed for timely prediction. Here, we review the use of speech through Natural Language Processing (NLP) to predict a recurrent psychotic episode. Recent advancements in NLP of speech have shown the ability to detect linguistic markers related to thought disorder and other language disruptions within 2-4 weeks preceding a relapse. This approach has shown to be able to capture individual speech patterns, showing promise in its use as a prediction tool. We outline current developments in remote monitoring for psychotic relapses, discuss the challenges and limitations and present the speech-NLP based approach as an alternative to detect relapses with sufficient accuracy, construct validity and lead time to generate clinical actions towards prevention.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid38428118,

title = {Speech markers to predict and prevent recurrent episodes of psychosis: A narrative overview and emerging opportunities},

author = {Farida Zaher and Mariama Diallo and Amélie M Achim and Ridha Joober and Marc-André Roy and Marie-France Demers and Priya Subramanian and Katie M Lavigne and Martin Lepage and Daniela Gonzalez and Irnes Zeljkovic and Kristin Davis and Michael Mackinley and Priyadharshini Sabesan and Shalini Lal and Alban Voppel and Lena Palaniyappan},

doi = {10.1016/j.schres.2024.02.036},

issn = {1573-2509},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-04-01},

journal = {Schizophr Res},

volume = {266},

pages = {205--215},

abstract = {Preventing relapse in schizophrenia improves long-term health outcomes. Repeated episodes of psychotic symptoms shape the trajectory of this illness and can be a detriment to functional recovery. Despite early intervention programs, high relapse rates persist, calling for alternative approaches in relapse prevention. Predicting imminent relapse at an individual level is critical for effective intervention. While clinical profiles are often used to foresee relapse, they lack the specificity and sensitivity needed for timely prediction. Here, we review the use of speech through Natural Language Processing (NLP) to predict a recurrent psychotic episode. Recent advancements in NLP of speech have shown the ability to detect linguistic markers related to thought disorder and other language disruptions within 2-4 weeks preceding a relapse. This approach has shown to be able to capture individual speech patterns, showing promise in its use as a prediction tool. We outline current developments in remote monitoring for psychotic relapses, discuss the challenges and limitations and present the speech-NLP based approach as an alternative to detect relapses with sufficient accuracy, construct validity and lead time to generate clinical actions towards prevention.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid36602178,

title = {The contribution of discursive and cognitive factors in referential choices made by elderly people during a narrative task},

author = {Mélanie Sandoz and Katia Iglesias and Amélie M Achim and Marion Fossard},

doi = {10.1080/13825585.2022.2150141},

issn = {1744-4128},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn},

volume = {31},

number = {2},

pages = {301--322},

abstract = {The present study focuses on referential choices made by healthy aged adults during narrative discourse, and their relationship with cognitive and socio-cognitive abilities. Previously, some studies have shown that, compared to young adults, older adults produce more pronouns when referring to various entities during discourse, regardless of the accessibility level of the referent for the addressee. This referential behavior has been interpreted in relation to the decrease of cognitive abilities, such as working memory abilities. There is, as of yet, little empirical evidence highlighting which cognitive competences preferentially support referential choices during discourse production. Here, we focus on three categories of referential markers (indefinite, definite markers and pronouns) produced by 78 participants from 60 to 91 years old. We used a storytelling task enabling us to examine the referential choices made at three discourse stages (introduction, maintaining or shift of the referent in focus) and in increasing levels of referential complexity (one vs two characters, and different vs same gender). In addition to specifically assessing how increasing age influences referential choices, we also examine the contribution of various cognitive and socio-cognitive skills that are presumed to play a specific role in referential choices. We found that both age and specific cognitive abilities (planification, inhibition, and verbal episodic memory) had an effect on referential choices, but that these effects depended on when (at which discourse stage) the referential markers were produced. Overall, our study highlights the complex interplay between discursive and cognitive factors in referential choices made by healthy older speakers.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid37733030,

title = {Contrasting social knowledge and theory of mind patterns in adults with personality disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and healthy controls},

author = {Mireille Lampron and Claudia Savard and Allyson Bernier and Maude Payant and Stéphane Sabourin and Amélie M Achim},

doi = {10.1080/13546805.2023.2259021},

issn = {1464-0619},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-09-01},

journal = {Cogn Neuropsychiatry},

volume = {28},

number = {5},

pages = {361--376},

abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Personality disorders (PD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are distinct conditions displaying common symptoms, like impairments in social cognition, that make them hard to distinguish, especially in severe cases. To date, few studies have compared theory of mind skills in these two disorders, and none have compared social knowledge skills. This study aims to compare the social cognitive abilities of patients with these conditions.nnMETHOD: Non-parametric analyses of covariance were used to compare severe PD patients ( = 37), SSD patients ( = 44), and healthy controls (HC;  = 49) on the Social Knowledge Test and two measures of theory of mind: the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and the Combined Stories Test, which incorporates items from various widely used tests.nnRESULTS: While no significant group differences were found on the Social Knowledge Test, SSD patients performed lower than the HC group on both theory of mind tests. PD patients only had lower performance than the HC group on specific items from the Combined Stories Test.nnCONCLUSIONS: PD and SSD patients demonstrated distinctive patterns of social cognitive impairments, with items of greater complexity or with an affective orientation being the most discriminant for PD.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pmid35906170,

title = {The other side of the social interaction: Theory of mind impairments in people with schizophrenia are linked to other people's difficulties in understanding them},

author = {Amélie M Achim and Marc-André Roy and Marion Fossard},

doi = {10.1016/j.schres.2022.07.001},

issn = {1573-2509},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-09-01},

journal = {Schizophr Res},

volume = {259},

pages = {150--157},

abstract = {BACKGROUND: People with schizophrenia (SZ) often present with theory of mind (ToM) deficits and with speech production deficits. While a link has been established between ToM abilities and symptoms of thought disorder, much less is known about other aspects of speech production in SZ.nnSTUDY DESIGN: This is a case-control study in which 25 stable outpatients with recent-onset SZ (27.1 years, 22 men) and 22 matched healthy controls (25.6 years, 16 men) performed a collaborative, verbal production task with a real interaction partner. Blind raters scored how easy participants made it to understand them (Facility ratings), how interesting they were to listen to (Interest ratings) and how expressive they were (Expressivity ratings). ToM was assessed with the Combined Stories Test and Sarfati's cartoon task. Symptoms were assessed with the PANSS five-factor version.nnSTUDY RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, SZ received significantly lower ratings for all three aspects of their verbal productions (Facility, Interest and Expressivity), despite the raters being blind to group membership. Interestingly, the Facility ratings were linked to ToM performance in the SZ group, which suggest that SZ participants who have difficulties understanding others (ToM deficits) also make it harder for others to understand them. Other notable findings include a strong link between the Expressivity ratings and the Interest ratings for both groups, and significant correlations between the Facility ratings and Cognitive/Disorganisation symptoms, and between the Expressivity ratings and both Negative and Depression/Anxiety symptoms in SZ.nnCONCLUSION: Studying speech production during real, collaborative social interactions could help move beyond the individual approach to SZ deficits, making it possible to involve the interaction partners to promote more efficient communication for people with schizophrenia.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}