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Facial emotion processing in schizophrenia: a non-specific neuropsychological deficit?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

E. Pomarol-Clotet ,
F. Hynes ,
C. Ashwin ,
E. T. Bullmore ,
P. J. McKenna  and
K. R. Laws
E. Pomarol-Clotet*
Affiliation:
Benito Menni Complex Assistencial Salut Mental, Barcelona, and CIBERSAM, Spain
F. Hynes
Affiliation:
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust, Birmingham, UK
C. Ashwin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK
E. T. Bullmore
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, UK
P. J. McKenna
Affiliation:
Benito Menni Complex Assistencial Salut Mental, Barcelona, and CIBERSAM, Spain
K. R. Laws
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr E. Pomarol-Clotet, Benito Menni Complex Assistencial en Salut Mental, Germanes Hospitalàries del Sagrat Cor de Jesús, C/Doctor Antoni Pujades 38-C, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Identification of facial emotions has been found to be impaired in schizophrenia but there are uncertainties about the neuropsychological specificity of the finding.

Method

Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls were given tests requiring identification of facial emotion, judgement of the intensity of emotional expressions without identification, familiar face recognition and the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT). The schizophrenia patients were selected to be relatively intellectually preserved.

Results

The patients with schizophrenia showed no deficit in identifying facial emotion, although they were slower than the controls. They were, however, impaired on judging the intensity of emotional expression without identification. They showed impairment in recognizing familiar faces but not on the BFRT.

Conclusions

When steps are taken to reduce the effects of general intellectual impairment, there is no deficit in identifying facial emotions in schizophrenia. There may, however, be a deficit in judging emotional intensity. The impairment found in naming familiar faces is consistent with other evidence of semantic memory impairment in the disorder.

Keywords

Cognitionemotionface processingschizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 40 , Issue 6 , June 2010 , pp. 911 - 919
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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