Search

Social interaction difficulties are a hallmark of psychotic disorders, which in some cases can be definitely traced back to autoimmunological causes. Interestingly, systemic and intrathecal inflammation have been shown to significantly influence social processing by increasing sensitivity to threatening social stimuli, which bears some resemblance to psychosis. In this article, we review evidence for the involvement of systemic and intrathecal inflammatory processes in psychotic disorders and how this might help to explain some of the social impairments associated with this group of disorders. Vice versa, we also discuss evidence for the immunomodulatory function of social interactions and their potential role for therapeutic interventions in psychotic disorders. • Deficits in social interaction could aggravate symptoms of psychotic disorders. • Psychotic disorders are associated, in some cases, with low-grade inflammation. • Inflammation influences social interaction in multiple and contradicting ways. • Diagnostic tools integrating inflammation/psychosis/social aspects are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]