Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SCZ) have overlapping symptomatology related to difficulties with social cognition. Yet, few studies have directly compared social cognition in ASD, SCZ, and typical development (TD). The current study examined individual differences in face recognition and its relation to affective theory of mind (ToM) in each diagnostic group. Adults with ASD (n = 31), SCZ (n = 43), and TD (n = 47) between the ages of 18 and 48 years-old with full scale IQ above 80 participated in this study. The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) measured affective ToM, and the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) measured face perception. Adults with ASD and SCZ did not differ in their affective ToM abilities, and both groups showed affective ToM difficulties compared with TD. However, better face recognition ability uniquely predicted better affective ToM ability in ASD. Results suggest that affective ToM difficulties may relate to face processing in ASD but not SCZ. By clarifying the complex nature of individual differences in affective ToM and face recognition difficulties in these disorders, the present study suggests there may be divergent mechanisms underlying pathways to social dysfunction in ASD compared with SCZ. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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面部感知可以预测自闭症谱系障碍的情感理论，但不能预测精神分裂症或典型发展。

自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 和精神分裂症谱系障碍 (SCZ) 具有与社会认知困难相关的重叠症状。然而，很少有研究直接比较 ASD、SCZ 和典型发展 (TD) 的社会认知。当前的研究检查了每个诊断组中面部识别的个体差异及其与情感心理理论（ToM）的关系。年龄在 18 岁至 48 岁之间、满量程智商高于 80 的自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) (n = 31)、SCZ (n = 43) 和 TD (n = 47) 成人参与了这项研究。“眼中读心”测试（RMET）测量情感思维，本顿面部识别测试（BFRT）测量面部感知。患有 ASD 和 SCZ 的成年人的情感 ToM 能力没有差异，并且与 TD 相比，两组都表现出情感 ToM 困难。然而，更好的面部识别能力独特地预测了 ASD 中更好的情感 ToM 能力。结果表明，情感 ToM 困难可能与自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的面部处理有关，但与 SCZ 无关。通过阐明这些疾病中情感 ToM 和面部识别困难的个体差异的复杂性质，本研究表明，与 SCZ 相比，自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的社会功能障碍可能存在不同的机制。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。