Relationships between markers of emotional and social cognition and acoustic-verbal hallucinations in children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Introduction Acoustic-verbal hallucinations (AVH) occur in children and adolescents without psychotic disorders. They are often associated with anxiety, thymic and behavioral disorders and a history of trauma, notably post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). AVH may be transient, but their persistence increases the risk of progression to a psychotic disorder. The aim of this study was to observe the links between markers of emotional and social cognition and the presence of AVH in children with PTSD, as well as the evolution of post-traumatic and psychotic symptoms. Methods This was a prospective 6-month study, including children aged 8–16 with PTSD and without psychotic disorder (DSM-5). Participants were divided into two groups, with and without AVH. Emotional cognition markers were measured using the DES IV and BAVQ-R, while social cognition markers were assessed via the NEPSY II test. Results 31 patients were included: 16 with AVH and 15 without. Results showed that at inclusion, markers of emotional and social cognition were not associated with AVH. At 6 months, markers of emotional cognition were significantly associated with the persistence of AVH, PTSD and psychotic disorders, unlike those of social cognition. Conclusion Emotional cognition markers play a central role in the evolution of hallucinatory, post-traumatic and psychotic symptoms, and could become a target for prevention and targeted therapy. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03356028