Modeling the Neuroanatomical and Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Cognitive Insight in Non-clinical Subjects

Abstract Cognitive insight, measured through one’s “Self-Reflectiveness” and “Self-Certainty”, involves the evaluation and correction of distorted beliefs and interpretations, and is important for clinical insight (i.e., awareness of illness) in psychosis. In psychosis, cognitive insight may depend on hippocampal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortical (VLPFC) structure, and verbal memory and executive functions. We explored whether similar relations exist in non-clinical participants. Fifty-one non-clinical subjects completed the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. Hippocampal volumes and VLPFC thickness were examined using FreeSurfer, and verbal memory and reasoning and problem solving was examined in a subset of the sample (n = 27). Significant correlations emerged between Self-Certainty and left VLPFC thickness, but not Self-Reflectiveness and VLPFC, or either cognitive insight measure and hippocampal volumes. Neither Self-Reflectiveness nor Self-Certainty correlated with neurocognitive functioning. These results provide a framework of mechanisms underlying cognitive insight in non-clinical samples, and allow evaluation of how these process may become dysfunctional in psychosis.
Source: Cognitive Therapy and Research - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research