Researchers assessed social cognition in those with Korsakoff’s Syndrome with the HITS model. People with KS performed lower on all three measures of social cognition on perceiving and interpreting emotions, and responding to social information, than controls. Those with strictly Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) also show similar deficits in social cognition. However, those with KS exhibit larger effect sizes which may be explained by:

• Those with KS have a more severe drinking history
• Brain damage in the diencephalon due to KS
• Particular social cognitive impairment in KS may be associated with other cognitive impairments in KS like episodic memory and executive function
• Psychiatric commodity in KS like mood and personality disorders may contribute more to social cognitive dysfunction