Cultural Differences in Breakdown of Social Cognition in Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Western vs Chinese Consistencies and Specificities

Social cognition refers to cognitive processes during social interaction in which people understand others and respond to their emotional expressions. These processes are susceptible to cultural differences. These cultural differences are typically more pronounced in psychiatric and neurological conditions that are associated with symptoms in social interaction. This project aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of social cognitive processes in healthy subjects and neuropsychiatric populations in Belgian (Flemish) and Chinese cultural settings. Similarities and differences between both cultural settings and their neural basis will be investigated through the analysis of data that are already available at the Center Neuropsychiatry (KU Leuven, Belgium) and the Dementia Care & Research Center (Peking University Institute of Mental Health, China). At the same time, new data will be collected utilizing recently developed instruments in both centers. Making use of the same data, the second aim of this project is to optimize current clinical procedures at each center.