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Hu D, Guo X, Zheng H, Yan C, Lui SSY, Wang Y, Wang Y, Chan RCK. Empathic accuracy in individuals with schizotypal personality traits. Psych J 2024; 13:813-823. [PMID: 38530878 PMCID: PMC11444733 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Empirical research using the Empathic Accuracy Task (EAT) has suggested that schizophrenia patients and people with schizotypal personality disorder exhibit lower empathic accuracy than healthy people. However, empathic accuracy in a subclinical sample with high levels of schizotypy has seldom been studied. Our study aimed to investigate empathy in a subclinical sample using the Chinese version of the EAT and a self-report empathy measure. Forty participants with high levels of schizotypy (HS participants) and 40 with low levels of schizotypy (LS participants), as measured by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), were recruited. All participants completed the Chinese version of the EAT and the self-report Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Empathic accuracy (EA) scores and the intra-individual variability of EA scores were calculated. Independent samples t tests and Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine group differences in empathy and the relationship between empathy and schizotypy respectively. HS participants exhibited reduced EA for both positive and negative videos, and larger intra-individual variability of EA for negative videos than LS participants. However, HS and LS participants did not differ in self-report cognitive empathy. Moreover, the interpersonal dimension of the SPQ was negatively correlated with EAT performance and self-report cognitive empathy in LS participants. Individuals with HS show poorer performance-based EA but relatively intact self-report cognitive empathy. This study provides empirical evidence for the ontogeny of empathy deficits in subclinical populations at risk of developing schizophrenia, supporting early interventions for social cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ding‐ding Hu
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of PsychologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xiao‐dong Guo
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of PsychologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Hong Zheng
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of PsychologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Chao Yan
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOES & STCSM), School of Psychology and Cognitive ScienceEast China Normal UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Simon S. Y. Lui
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical MedicineThe University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionHong KongChina
| | - Yan‐yu Wang
- School of PsychologyWeifang Medical UniversityWeifangChina
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of PsychologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Raymond C. K. Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of PsychologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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Diao M, Demchenko I, Asare G, Quan J, Debruille JB. Finding normal-to-better neurocognitive indexes in individuals with schizotypal traits using a social role task. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 9:66. [PMID: 37773255 PMCID: PMC10541438 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00394-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia patients make more errors and have longer reaction times (RTs) than healthy controls in most cognitive tasks. Deficits are also observed in subclinical participants having high scores on the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ). They are accompanied by smaller amplitudes of the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) that index attention and semantic- and working-memory. These functions are thus thought to be impaired in individuals having various schizophrenia attributes (SzAs). Nevertheless, normal RTs were recently found in SzAs during a particular self-referential task where half of the stimuli were names of extraordinary social roles (e.g., genius). Each name (ordinary or extraordinary) was presented individually, and participants were asked to decide whether or not they would consider themselves performing the role at any moment of their lives. To further test an absence of cognitive deficits in this task, the ERPs elicited by names of social roles were also examined in 175 healthy participants. The absence of longer RTs in high- than in low-SPQs was replicated. Moreover, the ERPs of high SPQs had larger occipital N1s, larger P2s and larger occipital N400s than those of low SPQs while late positive potentials (LPPs) were of similar amplitudes. Such results are consistent with clinical observations of greater attention and faster processing of stimuli related to extraordinary/delusional beliefs. Further studies should test whether the cognitive deficits found in SzAs are due to the use of tasks and stimuli that are less within their focus of interest than within that of healthy controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyi Diao
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Ilya Demchenko
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Gifty Asare
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Jingyan Quan
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - J Bruno Debruille
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
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From communication dysfunction to treatment options in serious mental illness. Psychiatry Res 2023; 321:115062. [PMID: 36746033 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The Commentary covers research focused on language dysfunction in schizophrenia, and more broadly in communication dysfunction in this disorder, which I have examined with a variety of both behavioral and imaging methodologies. It briefly outlines how further progress can be achieved in pursuing the goal of a comprehensive understanding of its underlying causes. Possible therapeutic approaches are also briefly discussed.
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Zandbagleh A, Mirzakuchaki S, Daliri MR, Premkumar P, Carretié L, Sanei S. Tensor factorization approach for ERP-based assessment of schizotypy in a novel auditory oddball task on perceived family stress. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 36541455 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/aca69f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Objective. Schizotypy, a potential phenotype for schizophrenia, is a personality trait that depicts psychosis-like signs in the normal range of psychosis continuum. Family communication may affect the social functioning of people with schizotypy. Greater family stress, such as irritability, criticism and less praise, is perceived at a higher level of schizotypy. This study aims to determine the differences between people with high and low levels of schizotypy using electroencephalography (EEG) during criticism, praise and neutral comments. EEGs were recorded from 29 participants in the general community who varied from low schizotypy to high schizotypy (HS) during a novel emotional auditory oddball task.Approach. We consider the difference in event-related potential parameters, namely the amplitude and latency of P300 subcomponents (P3a and P3b), between pairs of target words (standard, positive, negative and neutral). A model based on tensor factorization is then proposed to detect these components from the EEG using the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC decomposition technique. Finally, we employ the mutual information estimation method to select influential features for classification.Main results.The highest classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 93.1%, 94.73%, and 90% are obtained via leave-one-out cross validation.Significance. This is the first attempt to investigate the identification of individuals with psychometrically-defined HS from brain responses that are specifically associated with perceiving family stress and schizotypy. By measuring these brain responses to social stress, we achieve the goal of improving the accuracy in detection of early episodes of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Zandbagleh
- School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sattar Mirzakuchaki
- School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Preethi Premkumar
- Division of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London Southbank University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Luis Carretié
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Saeid Sanei
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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Attademo L, Bernardini F, Verdolini N. Neural Correlates of Schizotypal Personality Disorder: a Systematic Review of Neuroimaging and EEG Studies. Curr Med Imaging 2021; 17:1283-1298. [PMID: 33459241 DOI: 10.2174/1573405617666210114142206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is a cluster A personality disorder affecting 1.0% of general population, characterised by disturbances in cognition and reality testing dimensions, affect regulation, and interpersonal function. SPD shares similar but attenuated phenomenological, genetic, and neurobiological abnormalities with schizophrenia (SCZ) and is described as part of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. OBJECTIVE Aim of this work was to identify the major neural correlates of SPD. METHODS This is a systematic review conducted according to PRISMA statement. The protocol was prospectively registered in PROSPERO - International prospective register of systematic reviews. The review was performed to summarise the most comprehensive and updated evidence on functional neuroimaging and neurophysiology findings obtained through different techniques (DW-MRI, DTI, PET, SPECT, fMRI, MRS, EEG) in individuals with SPD. RESULTS Of the 52 studies included in this review, 9 were on DW-MRI and DTI, 11 were on PET and SPECT, 11 were on fMRI and MRS, and 21 were on EEG. It was complex to synthesise all the functional abnormalities found into a single, unified, pathogenetic pathway, but a common theme emerged: the dysfunction of brain circuits including striatal, frontal, temporal, limbic regions (and their networks) together with a dysregulation along the dopaminergic pathways. CONCLUSION Brain abnormalities in SPD are similar, but less marked, than those found in SCZ. Furthermore, different patterns of functional abnormalities in SPD and SCZ have been found, confirming the previous literature on the 'presence' of possible compensatory factors, protecting individuals with SPD from frank psychosis and providing diagnostic specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Attademo
- Hospital Psychiatric Service for Diagnosis and Care (S.P.D.C.) of Potenza, Department of Mental Health, ASP Basilicata, Italian National Health Service, Potenza. Italy
| | - Francesco Bernardini
- Hospital Psychiatric Service for Diagnosis and Care (S.P.D.C.) of Pordenone, Department of Mental Health, AsFO Friuli Occidentale, Italian National Health Service, Pordenone. Italy
| | - Norma Verdolini
- Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Program, Hospital Clinic, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, 170 Villarroel st., Barcelona, Catalunya. Spain
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Hirano S, Spencer KM, Onitsuka T, Hirano Y. Language-Related Neurophysiological Deficits in Schizophrenia. Clin EEG Neurosci 2020; 51:222-233. [PMID: 31741393 DOI: 10.1177/1550059419886686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that affects all aspects of one's life with several cognitive and social dysfunctions. However, there is still no objective and universal index for diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Many researchers have studied language processing in schizophrenia since most of the patients show symptoms related to language processing, such as thought disorder, auditory verbal hallucinations, or delusions. Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) with millisecond order high temporal resolution, have been applied to reveal the abnormalities in language processing in schizophrenia. The aims of this review are (a) to provide an overview of recent findings in language processing in schizophrenia with EEG and MEG using neurophysiological indices, providing insights into underlying language related pathophysiological deficits in this disease and (b) to emphasize the advantage of EEG and MEG in research on language processing in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shogo Hirano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashiku, Fukuoka, Japan.,Neural Dynamics Laboratory, Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kevin M Spencer
- Neural Dynamics Laboratory, Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Toshiaki Onitsuka
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashiku, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yoji Hirano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashiku, Fukuoka, Japan.,Neural Dynamics Laboratory, Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Grundy JG, Anderson JAE, Bialystok E. Bilinguals have more complex EEG brain signals in occipital regions than monolinguals. Neuroimage 2017; 159:280-288. [PMID: 28782680 PMCID: PMC5671360 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.07.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain signal complexity increases with development and is associated with better cognitive outcomes in older age. Research has also shown that bilinguals are able to stave off cognitive decline for longer periods of time than monolinguals, but no studies to date have examined whether bilinguals have more complex brain signals than monolinguals. Here we explored the hypothesis that bilingualism leads to greater brain signal complexity by examining multiscale entropy (MSE) in monolingual and bilingual young adults while EEG was recorded during a task-switching paradigm. Results revealed that bilinguals had greater brain signal complexity than monolinguals in occipital regions. Furthermore, bilinguals performed better with increasing occipital brain signal complexity, whereas monolinguals relied on coupling with frontal regions to demonstrate gains in performance. These findings are discussed in terms of how a lifetime of experience with a second language leads to more automatic and efficient processing of stimuli and how these adaptations could contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline in older age.
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Factors in sensory processing of prosody in schizotypal personality disorder: an fMRI experiment. Schizophr Res 2010; 121:75-89. [PMID: 20362418 PMCID: PMC2905482 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2009] [Revised: 03/04/2010] [Accepted: 03/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Persons diagnosed with schizophrenia demonstrate deficits in prosody recognition. To examine prosody along the schizophrenia spectrum, antipsychotic-naïve schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) subjects and healthy control subjects were compared. It was hypothesized that SPD subjects would perform more poorly; with cognitive and demographic factors contributing to the poor performance. The superior temporal gyrus (STG) was selected as the region-of-interest (ROI) given its known abnormalities in SPD and its important role in the processing of prosody. METHODS SPD and healthy comparison (HC) subjects were matched on age, IQ, and parental social-economic status (PSES). Cognitive measures included the Speech Sound Perception Test (SSPT) to examine phonological processing (SPD=68, HC=74) and the Verbal Fluency task to examine executive functioning (SPD=129, HC=138). The main experiment was a novel fMRI task of prosody identification using semantically neutral sentences spoken with emotional prosody (SPD=16, HC=13). Finally, volumetric measurement of the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a key region for processing prosody, and partially overlapping with the STG, was performed (SPD=30, HC=30). RESULTS Phonological processing and executive functioning were both impaired in SPD subjects compared with HC subjects. Contrary to the prediction, SPD subjects, as a group, were similar to HC subjects in terms of correctly indentifying the emotion conveyed and reaction time. Within the SPD group, prosody identification accuracy was influenced by executive functioning, IQ and perhaps PSES, relationships not found with HC subjects. Phonological perception aided prosody identification in both diagnostic groups. As expected, both groups activated the STG while performing the prosody identification task. However, SPD subjects may have been less "efficient" in their recruitment of STG neurons. Finally, SPD subjects demonstrated a trend toward smaller STS volumes on the left, particularly the lower bank. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that subtle differences between SPD and controls in phonological processing, executive functioning, IQ, and possibly PSES, contributed to difficulty in processing prosody for some SPD subjects.
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An event-related brain potential study of schizotypal personality and associative semantic processing. Int J Psychophysiol 2009; 75:119-26. [PMID: 19818815 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2007] [Revised: 04/25/2008] [Accepted: 04/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
To examine whether schizotypal personality is associated with the degree to which concepts activate each other in semantic memory, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a delayed lexical decision task from healthy volunteers rated for schizotypy. Each target word was directly, indirectly, or not at all related to a prime word preceding it at a 300- or 750-ms stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA). Overall, N400 amplitudes were largest for unrelated targets, smallest for directly related targets, and intermediate for indirectly related targets. Higher total Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) scores correlated with smaller N400 indirect priming effects (i.e., smaller N400 amplitude differences between unrelated and indirectly related targets) at both SOAs. In addition, schizotypal subscale scores were differentially associated with N400 effects. Higher SPQ Cognitive-Perceptual scores correlated with smaller N400 direct priming effects (smaller N400 amplitude differences between unrelated and directly related targets) at both SOAs, and with smaller N400 indirect priming effects at the shorter SOA. These correlations are consistent with the hypothesis that decreased use of meaningful context to activate related concepts in general, and/or to inhibit unrelated concepts, may play some role in the development of unusual beliefs.
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Ladea M, Prelipceanu D. Markers of vulnerability in schizophrenia. J Med Life 2009; 2:155-64. [PMID: 20108534 PMCID: PMC3018975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vulnerability in schizophrenia is an integrative concept, which tries to explain the development of schizophrenia as an interaction between different individual susceptibility factors and environmental risk factors. Vulnerability markers used in genetic studies include biochemical indicators, neuroanatomical, neurophysiologic, and cognitive abnormalities. Among those, the most extensive studied markers were: evoked potentials, smooth pursuit eye movements, and attentional deficits. Some of the potential indicators presented in this paper satisfy most of the criteria necessary for a vulnerability marker, but none meets all of them. Nevertheless, they represent important markers of risk to schizophrenia.
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Allen AJ, Griss ME, Folley BS, Hawkins KA, Pearlson GD. Endophenotypes in schizophrenia: a selective review. Schizophr Res 2009; 109:24-37. [PMID: 19223268 PMCID: PMC2665704 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2009.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2008] [Revised: 01/11/2009] [Accepted: 01/14/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Given the wealth of data in the literature on schizophrenia endophenotypes, it is useful to have one source to reference their frequency data. We reviewed the literature on disease-liability associated variants in structural and functional magnetic resonance images (MRI), sensory processing measures, neuromotor abilities, neuropsychological measures, and physical characteristics in schizophrenia patients (SCZ), their first-degree relatives (REL), and healthy controls (HC). The purpose of this review was to provide a summary of the existing data on the most extensively published endophenotypes for schizophrenia. METHODS We searched PubMed and MedLine for all studies on schizophrenia endophenotypes comparing SCZ to HC and/or REL to HC groups. Percent abnormal values, generally defined as >2 SD from the mean (in the direction of abnormality) and/or associated effect sizes (Cohen's d) were calculated for each study. RESULTS Combined, the articles reported an average 39.4% (SD=20.7%; range=2.2-100%) of abnormal values in SCZ, 28.1% (SD=16.6%; range=1.6-67.0%) abnormal values in REL, and 10.2% (SD=6.7%; range=0.0-34.6%) in HC groups. CONCLUSIONS These findings are reviewed in the context of emerging hypotheses on schizophrenia endophenotypes, as well as a discussion of clustering trends among the various intermediate phenotypes. In addition, programs for future research are discussed, as instantiated in a few recent large-scale studies on multiple endophenotypes across patients, relatives, and healthy controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyssa J. Allen
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106,Corresponding Author: Allyssa J. Allen, Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Whitehall Building, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106, Tel: 860-459-7806, Fax: 860-545-7797,
| | - Mélina E. Griss
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106
| | - Bradley S. Folley
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106
| | - Keith A. Hawkins
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06511
| | - Godfrey D. Pearlson
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106,Dept. of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06511
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Auditory processing abnormalities in schizotypal personality disorder: an fMRI experiment using tones of deviant pitch and duration. Schizophr Res 2008; 103:26-39. [PMID: 18555666 PMCID: PMC3188851 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2008.04.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2008] [Revised: 04/18/2008] [Accepted: 04/24/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the cardinal features of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is language abnormalities. The focus of this study was to determine whether or not there are also processing abnormalities of pure tones differing in pitch and duration in SPD. METHODS Thirteen neuroleptic-naïve male subjects met full criteria for SPD and were group-matched on age and parental socio-economic status to 13 comparison subjects. Verbal learning was measured with the California Verbal Learning Test. Heschl's gyrus volumes were measured using structural MRI. Whole-brain fMRI activation patterns in an auditory task of listening to tones including pitch and duration deviants were compared between SPD and control subjects. In a second and separate ROI analysis we found that peak activation in superior temporal gyrus (STG), Brodmann Areas 41 and 42, was correlated with verbal learning and clinical measures derived from the SCID-II interview. RESULTS In the region of the STG, SPD subjects demonstrated more activation to pitch deviants bilaterally (p<0.001); and to duration deviants in the left hemisphere (p=0.005) (two-sample t). SPD subjects also showed more bilateral parietal cortex activation to duration deviants. In no region did comparison subjects activate more than SPD subjects in either experiment. Exploratory correlations for SPD subjects suggest a relationship between peak activation on the right for deviant tones in the pitch experiment with odd speech and impaired verbal learning. There was no difference between groups on Heschl's gyrus volume. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that SPD subjects have inefficient or hyper-responsive processing of pure tones both in terms of pitch and duration deviance that is not attributable to smaller Heschl's gyrus volumes. Finally, these auditory processing abnormalities may have significance for the odd speech heard in some SPD subjects and downstream language and verbal learning deficits.
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McClure MM, Barch DM, Flory JD, Harvey PD, Siever LJ. Context processing in schizotypal personality disorder: evidence of specificity of impairment to the schizophrenia spectrum. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2008; 117:342-54. [PMID: 18489210 DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.117.2.342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Working memory abnormalities, which are particularly pronounced on context processing tasks, appear relatively specific to schizophrenia spectrum illnesses compared with other psychotic disorders. However, the specificity of context processing deficits to schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), a prototype of schizophrenia, has not been studied. The authors administered 3 versions of the modified AX Continuous Performance Test and an N-back working memory test to 63 individuals with SPD and 25 with other personality disorders, as well as 42 healthy controls. For the AX Continuous Performance Test standard and degraded versions, there was a significant Trial Type x Delay x Group interaction, as SPDs made significantly more errors reflecting poor maintenance of context and fewer errors reflecting good maintenance of context. SPDs also demonstrated poor performance on the N-back, especially at the 2-back condition. Context processing errors and N-back accuracy scores were related to disorganization symptoms. These findings, which are quite similar to those previously reported in patients with schizophrenia, suggest that context processing deficits are specific to the schizophrenia spectrum and are not a reflection of overall psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M McClure
- VA VISN-3 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Bronx, New York 10468, USA.
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Koo MS, Levitt JJ, McCarley RW, Seidman LJ, Dickey CC, Niznikiewicz MA, Voglmaier MM, Zamani P, Long KR, Kim SS, Shenton ME. Reduction of caudate nucleus volumes in neuroleptic-naïve female subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2006; 60:40-8. [PMID: 16460694 PMCID: PMC2768064 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2005] [Revised: 09/22/2005] [Accepted: 09/26/2005] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The caudate nucleus might contribute to the psychopathological and cognitive deficits observed in schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Here we focused on female patients, because this group is underrepresented in studies of SPD and schizophrenia, and we might learn more about the caudate and clinical and cognitive impairments that are unique to female patients diagnosed with SPD. METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging scans, obtained on a 1.5-T magnet with 1.5-mm contiguous slices, were used to measure the caudate in 32 neuroleptic-naïve women with SPD and in 29 female normal comparison subjects. Subjects were group-matched for age, parental socioeconomic status, and intelligence quotient. RESULTS We found significantly reduced left and right caudate relative volume (8.3%, 7.7%) in female SPD subjects compared with normal comparison subjects. In female SPD subjects, we found significant correlations between smaller total caudate relative volume and worse performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (nonperseverative errors) and on the California Verbal Learning Test (verbal memory and learning), and significant correlations between smaller total caudate relative volume and both positive and negative symptoms on the Structured Interview for Schizotypy. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that, for female SPD subjects, smaller caudate volume is associated with poorer cognitive performance and more schizotypal symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Seong Koo
- Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02401, USA
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Dickey CC, McCarley RW, Niznikiewicz MA, Voglmaier MM, Seidman LJ, Kim S, Shenton ME. Clinical, cognitive, and social characteristics of a sample of neuroleptic-naive persons with schizotypal personality disorder. Schizophr Res 2005; 78:297-308. [PMID: 15985362 PMCID: PMC2766931 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2005.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2005] [Revised: 05/12/2005] [Accepted: 05/18/2005] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) shares with schizophrenia many biological features, yet little is known about the clinical characteristics of persons diagnosed with this disorder. This report describes the clinical, cognitive and socio-occupational characteristics of a community sample of subjects diagnosed with SPD. METHOD Sixty-four male and 40 female neuroleptic-naive DSM-IV SPD subjects and 59 male and 51 female comparison subjects were recruited from the community for a total sample of 214 subjects. Demographic and cognitive differences between groups and, within the SPD group, the effect of gender on clinical features, such as the SPD criteria, SAPS, SANS, Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, and co-morbidity, were examined using ANOVA and Chi-square distributions. RESULTS SPD subjects, in contrast to comparison subjects, had significantly lower socio-economic status, poorer social relationships and skills, and lower vocabulary scores. Furthermore, SPD subjects demonstrated more impairment on Vocabulary scores than on Block Design, as measured by the WAIS-R, a pattern not seen in comparison subjects. In the SPD cohort, positive symptoms predominated and nearly half were co-morbid for major depression. With respect to gender, male SPD subjects, compared with female SPD subjects, evinced significantly more negative symptoms, fewer friends, had more odd speech, and were more likely to also suffer from paranoid and narcissistic personality disorders. In contrast to male SPD subjects, female SPD subjects perceived themselves to be more disorganized. CONCLUSIONS SPD subjects, similar to schizophrenics, are impaired socially, occupationally, and cognitively, particularly in the area of verbal measures. Moreover, male SPD subjects may be more severely affected than female SPD subjects across multiple domains of functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandlee C Dickey
- Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Psychiatry 116A, 940 Belmont St., Brockton, MA 02401, USA.
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Niznikiewicz MA, Friedman M, Shenton ME, Voglmaier M, Nestor PG, Frumin M, Seidman L, Sutton J, McCarley RW. Processing sentence context in women with schizotypal personality disorder: an ERP study. Psychophysiology 2004; 41:367-71. [PMID: 15102121 PMCID: PMC2794422 DOI: 10.1111/1469-8986.2004.00173.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that schizophrenic patients do not use context efficiently. Also, studies suggest similarities in clinical and cognitive profiles between schizophrenic and schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) individuals, and epidemiological studies point to a genetic link between the two disorders. This study examined electrophysiological correlates of processing sentence context in a group of SPD women in a classical N400 sentence paradigm. The study assessed if the dysfunction in context use found previously in schizophrenia and male SPD also exists in female SPD. We tested 17 SPD and 16 matched normal control women. The results suggest the presence of abnormality in context use in female SPD similar to that previously reported for male schizophrenic and SPD individuals, but of lesser degree of severity. In SPD women, relative to their comparison group, a more negative N400 was found only to auditory congruent sentences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A Niznikiewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Neuroscience Laboratory, Brockton/West Roxbury VAMC, Brockton, Massachusetts 02301, USA.
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Niznikiewicz MA, Shenton ME, Voglmaier M, Nestor PG, Dickey CC, Frumin M, Seidman LJ, Allen CG, McCarley RW. Semantic dysfunction in women with schizotypal personality disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2002; 159:1767-74. [PMID: 12359685 PMCID: PMC2845844 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.10.1767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study examined whether early or late processes in semantic networks were abnormal in women with a diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder. The N400 component of the EEG event-related potentials was used as a probe of semantic processes. METHOD Word pairs were presented with short and long stimulus-onset asynchronies to investigate, respectively, early and late semantic processes in 16 women with schizotypal personality disorder and 15 normal female comparison subjects. Event-related potentials were recorded in response to the last words in a pair. RESULTS With the short stimulus-onset asynchrony, the N400 amplitude was less negative in the schizotypal personality disorder group than in the normal comparison group. No group differences were found with the long stimulus-onset asynchrony. CONCLUSIONS The finding of a less negative than normal N400 amplitude with the short stimulus-onset asynchrony in women with schizotypal personality disorder supports the hypothesis that persons with this disorder evince an overactivation of semantic networks. The absence of group differences with the long stimulus-onset asynchrony, which is primarily sensitive to processes involved in context integration, suggests that in this group of schizotypal personality disorder subjects, additional demands on working memory may be necessary to bring out the semantic dysfunction.
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Dickey CC, McCarley RW, Voglmaier MM, Frumin M, Niznikiewicz MA, Hirayasu Y, Fraone S, Seidman LJ, Shenton ME. Smaller left Heschl's gyrus volume in patients with schizotypal personality disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2002; 159:1521-7. [PMID: 12202272 PMCID: PMC2832788 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.9.1521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders evince similar genetic, neurotransmitter, neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and structural abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown smaller gray matter volume in patients with schizotypal personality disorder than in matched comparison subjects in the left superior temporal gyrus, an area important for language processing. In a further exploration, the authors studied two components of the superior temporal gyrus: Heschl's gyrus and the planum temporale. METHOD MRI scans were acquired from 21 male, neuroleptic-naive subjects recruited from the community who met DSM-IV criteria for schizotypal personality disorder and 22 male comparison subjects similar in age. Eighteen of the 21 subjects with schizotypal personality disorder had additional comorbid, nonpsychotic diagnoses. The superior temporal gyrus was manually delineated on coronal images with subsequent identification of Heschl's gyrus and the planum temporale. Exploratory correlations between region of interest volumes and neuropsychological measures were also performed. RESULTS Left Heschl's gyrus gray matter volume was 21% smaller in the schizotypal personality disorder subjects than in the comparison subjects, a difference that was not associated with the presence of comorbid axis I disorders. There were no between-group volume differences in right Heschl's gyrus or in the right or left planum temporale. Exploratory analyses also showed a correlation between poor logical memory and smaller left Heschl's gyrus volume. CONCLUSIONS Smaller left Heschl's gyrus gray matter volume in subjects with schizotypal personality disorder may help to explain the previously reported abnormality in the left superior temporal gyrus and may be a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandlee C Dickey
- Harvard Medical School, Clinical Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston HealthCare System, Brockton, MA 02401, USA
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Tsuang MT, Stone WS, Faraone SV. Understanding predisposition to schizophrenia: toward intervention and prevention. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2002; 47:518-26. [PMID: 12211879 DOI: 10.1177/070674370204700603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Early intervention to prevent schizophrenia is one of the most important goals of schizophrenia research. However, the field is not yet ready to initiate trials to prevent prodromal or psychotic symptoms in people who are at risk for developing the disorder. In this paper, we consider some of the major obstacles that must be studied before prevention strategies become feasible. METHOD AND RESULTS One of the most important hurdles is the identification of a syndrome or set of traits that reflects a predisposition to schizophrenia and that might provide potential targets for intervention. In a recent reformulation of Paul Meehl's concept of schizotaxia, we integrate research findings obtained over the last 4 decades to propose a syndrome with meaningful clinical manifestations. We review the conceptualization of this syndrome and consider its multidimensional clinical expression. We then describe preliminary research diagnostic criteria for use in adult, nonpsychotic, first-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, based on negative symptoms and neuropsychological deficits. We follow this with evidence supporting the validity of the proposed syndrome, which mainly includes social dysfunction and response to a low dosage of one of the newer antipsychotic medications. CONCLUSIONS Continued progress toward the eventual initiation of prevention strategies for schizophrenia will include sustained efforts to validate the traits reflecting a predisposition to develop the disorder (for example, schizotaxia), follow-up studies to confirm initial findings, and the identification of potentially useful preventive interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming T Tsuang
- Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Dickey CC, McCarley RW, Shenton ME. The brain in schizotypal personality disorder: a review of structural MRI and CT findings. Harv Rev Psychiatry 2002; 10:1-15. [PMID: 11751641 PMCID: PMC2854016 DOI: 10.1080/10673220216201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Studies of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) are important because the condition is genetically related to schizophrenia and because data accumulating to confirm its biological underpinnings are challenging some traditional views about the nature of per-sonality disorders. This review of 17 structural imaging studies in SPD indicates that individuals with this disorder show brain abnormalities in the superior temporal gyrus, parahippocampus, temporal horn region of the lateral ventricles, corpus callosum, thalamus, and septum pellucidum, as well as in total cerebrospinal fluid volume, similar to those seen in persons with schizophrenia. Differences between SPD and schizophrenia include lack of abnormalities in the medial temporal lobes and lateral ventricles in SPD. Whether the normal volume, and possibly normal functioning, of the medial temporal lobes in individuals with SPD may help to suppress psychosis in this disorder remains an intriguing but still unresolved question. Such speculation must be tempered due to a paucity of studies, and additional work is needed to confirm these preliminary findings. The imaging findings do suggest, however, that SPD probably represents a milder form of disease along the schizophrenia continuum. With further clarification of the neuroanatomy of SPD, researchers may be able to identify which neuroanatomical abnormalities are associated with the frank psychosis seen in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandlee C Dickey
- Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02401, USA
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