Advisor(s)

Junghee Lee

Committee Member(s)

Adrienne Lahti
Kristina Visscher
Lauren Luther

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

1-27-2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Social cognition deficits observed in psychotic disorders contribute to functional impairments. The cerebellum has been identified as a critical brain region involved in social cognitive processes, but the relationship between cerebellar structural deviations and social cognition in individuals with psychosis (probands) and their unaffected relatives remains unclear. Using normative modeling, this study examined cerebellar volume deviations in probands and their unaffected first-degree relatives and investigated associations with social cognitive and motor performance. Probands exhibited significant theory of mind deficits compared to relatives. Probands showed negative deviations in anterior cerebellar lobe relative to the norm, whereas relatives did not. Deviations in anterior and posterior lobes were positively associated with social cognitive performance but unrelated to motor performance. Lobule-specific analyses revealed that posterior regions more negative deviations across groups, though hemispheric patterns differed. Stratifying by psychosis subtype, nonaffective probands showed more extensive negative deviations than affective probands, and their unaffected relatives also exhibited more negative deviations than relatives of affective probands. These findings suggest that cerebellar deviations are more pronounced in nonaffective psychosis. Specific lobule deviations may reflect genetic vulnerability while others are influenced by illness-specific processes.

Keywords

cerebellum;genetic vulnerability;psychosis;social cognition;unaffected relatives

ProQuest Publication Number

32442659

ISBN

9798273349902

Download

Share

COinS