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Poletti M, Raballo A. Ontogenesis of self-disorders in the schizophrenia spectrum: A phenomenological neuro-developmental model. Schizophr Res 2024; 272:26-35. [PMID: 39181008 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
The concept of basic Self-disorders (SD) captures the experiential aspects associated with vulnerability to schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). SD emerge prior to, and constitute the underlying structure for, the emergence of major diagnostic symptoms, including positive psychotic ones. SD are also detectable in populations with familial risk for SSD. This paper proposes a two-stage phenomenological-developmental model, exploring the early deficit in multisensory integration and their impact on the ontogeny of the Minimal Self in the first years of life. It also examines subsequent emergence of schizotaxic vulnerability, which later manifests as typical anomalies of subjectivity, such as basic symptoms and self-disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Poletti
- Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Andrea Raballo
- Chair of Psychiatry, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland; Cantonal Sociopsychiatric Organisation, Public Health Division, Department of Health and Social Care, Repubblica e Cantone Ticino, Mendrisio, Switzerland.
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Parnas J, Sandsten KE. The phenomenological nature of schizophrenia and disorder of selfhood. Schizophr Res 2024; 270:197-201. [PMID: 38924937 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.06.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia continues its resistance to the pathogenetic understanding. We believe that one of the reasons is an oblivion of schizophrenia's characteristic Gestalt expressive of its psychopathological structure. In this article we argue for a crucial role of disorders of selfhood in the constitution of this Gestalt. First, we present a phenomenological account of the self. This is followed by an exposition of basic complaints in schizophrenia which are reflective of a disordered selfhood and which often date back to childhood. We then present characteristic features of the schizophrenic psychosis with its phenomenon of "double bookkeeping". Hallucinations, delusions and double bookkeeping are all associated with the instability of the self. Finally, we briefly address characteristic aspects of the encounter with a schizophrenia patient and argue that self-disorders play an important diagnostic role. We conclude by emphasizing the role of phenomenology in psychiatric research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Parnas
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Psychiatric Center Glostrup, Capital Region, Denmark
| | - Karl Erik Sandsten
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Capital Region, Denmark.
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Rosen C, Park S, Baxter T, Tufano M, Giersch A. Sensed Presence, Attenuated Psychosis, and Transliminality: At the Threshold of Consciousness. Psychopathology 2023; 56:359-370. [PMID: 36754040 PMCID: PMC10534996 DOI: 10.1159/000528572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The experience of "sensed presence" or "felt presence" in the absence of "other" has been described as a complex multimodal experience to which meaning is given. Sensed presence (SenP) is a transdiagnostic experience that exists along a continuum that can appear during isolation, spirit quests, exposure to extreme elements, bereavement, anxiety, and psychosis. Given the prevalence and vast heterogeneity of SenP, in addition to a surprising lack of targeted research into this phenomenon, this research examined the interrelationship of SenP, attenuated psychosis symptoms (APS), and transliminality. Transliminality is composed of absorption, fantasy proneness, paranormal belief, mystical experiences, increased creativity, and hyperaesthesia. METHODS A completely anonymous online survey of unusual experiences and mental health was distributed via social media (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and mass emailing lists) to recruit participants. Demographic data were analyzed using χ2 tests and one-way ANOVAs. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify distinct sub-categories of transliminality followed by ANOVAs with bootstrapping at 1,000 iterations to compare SenP, increased APS, and transliminality. Pearson's bivariate correlations were conducted to determine the association between SenP, APS, and transliminality. RESULTS Together with descriptive findings, we show distinct characteristics between clusters. T1 cluster consisted of individuals with few SenP experiences, low APS, and low transliminality. T2 consisted of individuals with a moderate prevalence of SenP, low APS, moderate transliminality, and increased overall feeling of closeness to G-d. There was no significant difference in APS between T1 and T2 or in the level of distress associated with APS. T3 individuals showed a significantly higher prevalence of SenP in all domains (frequency, distress, vividness, and total score), higher APS, and higher transliminality, compared to T1 and T2. The T3 cluster met criteria for high risk to develop psychosis. CONCLUSION Thus, our findings demonstrate a strong association and entanglement of these experiences which suggests that the interrelatedness of transliminality/absorption and APS may serve as a potentially provocative underlying structure in the phenomenology of SenP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cherise Rosen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Tatiana Baxter
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Michele Tufano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Anne Giersch
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
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Sandsten KE, Wainio‐Theberge S, Nordgaard J, Kjaer TW, Northoff G, Parnas J. Relating self-disorders to neurocognitive and psychopathological measures in first-episode schizophrenia. Early Interv Psychiatry 2022; 16:1202-1210. [PMID: 35081668 PMCID: PMC9786869 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
AIM The notion of a disturbed self as the core feature of schizophrenia dates back to the founding texts on the illness. Since the development of the psychometric tool for examination of anomalous self-experience (EASE), self-disorders have become accessible to empirical research. Empirical studies have shown that EASE measured self-disorders predict schizophrenia spectrum in prospective studies and consistently show a selective hyper aggregation of self-disorder in schizophrenia and schizotypal disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between self-disorders cognitive deficits and symptoms in schizophrenia. METHODS Thirty-five non-acute first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 35 matched healthy controls were evaluated with EASE, cognitive deficits, and symptoms (PANSS positive, negative and general). [Correction added on 28 January 2022, after first online publication: the words, 'evaluated with' were missing and have now been added to the preceding sentence.] RESULTS: The results show that self-disorders and symptoms are correlated among patients with schizophrenia, but not with cognitive deficits. Moreover, with the exception of attentional deficits, neurocognitive impairment was not significantly higher among patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS We argue that this adds support to a view of schizophrenia as being characterized by specific traits of pre-reflective self-disturbance, which are related to the severity of symptoms, whereas neurocognitive impairment reflects a separate or distinct aspect of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Julie Nordgaard
- Mental Health Center AmagerUniversity Hospital of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | | | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health ResearchOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Josef Parnas
- Mental Health Center GlostrupUniversity Hospital of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
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Yttri JE, Urfer-Parnas A, Parnas J. Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia, Part II: Phenomenological Qualities and Evolution. J Nerv Ment Dis 2022; 210:659-664. [PMID: 35383683 PMCID: PMC9426732 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000001514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Hallucination is defined in the diagnostic systems as an experience resembling true perception without causal stimulus. In this second report from an in-depth phenomenological study of schizophrenia patients experiencing auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs), we focused on the phenomenological qualities of AVHs. We found that a substantial proportion of patients could not clearly distinguish between thinking and hallucinating. The emotional tone of the voices increased in negativity. AVHs became more complex. Spatial localization was ambiguous and only 10% experienced only external hallucinations. There was an overlap with passivity phenomena in one third of the cases. The patients occasionally acted upon the content of AVHs. In the discussion section, we criticize the perceptual model of AVHs. We conclude that the definition of AVH in schizophrenia is misleading and exerts negative consequences on the clinical work and empirical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janne-Elin Yttri
- Mental Health Centre Amager, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen
| | | | - Josef Parnas
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen
- Mental Health Centre Glostrup, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Brøndby
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Nishiyama S, Kurachi M, Higuchi Y, Takahashi T, Sasabayashi D, Mizukami Y, Suzuki M. Development and validation of a scale of self-alienation-related attributes for the early diagnosis of schizophrenia. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 147:212-220. [PMID: 35065511 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.020] [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: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The onset of schizophrenia is often preceded by a prodromal phase. However, it is difficult to predict the future transition to schizophrenia from the prodromal symptoms. Based on the diagnostic significance of Schneider's first rank symptoms (FRS), especially those representing "ego disorders (Ichstörungen)", we developed a scale of self-alienation-related attributes (Self-A) to assess the psychological characteristics associated with ego disorders for the early diagnosis of schizophrenia. METHODS In total, 153 schizophrenia (Sz) patients, 83 at-risk mental state (ARMS) subjects, and 154 healthy control (HC) subjects participated in this study. The Self-A scale was constructed by items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) based on the differences between schizophrenia patients with and without FRS representing ego-disorders designated as "self-alienation symptoms". The Self-A scale was tested for its reliability and validity in a different sample of schizophrenia patients, and was then applied to different cohorts including first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients, ARMS individuals, and HC subjects. RESULTS The Self-A consisting of 27 items exhibited good internal consistency reliability. The validity was well demonstrated by the high correlation of the Self-A scores with the self-alienation symptom scores. The ARMS and FES groups had higher Self-A scores than the HC group. The Self-A score in the ARMS individuals who later developed schizophrenia was higher than that in the ARMS subjects who did not, and was comparable with that in the FES group. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the newly developed Self-A scale assessing the self-alienation-related attributes can improve the early diagnosis of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimako Nishiyama
- Centre for Health Care and Human Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan; Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.
| | - Masayoshi Kurachi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan
| | - Yuko Higuchi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan; Centre for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Takahashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan; Centre for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Daiki Sasabayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan; Centre for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Yuko Mizukami
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan
| | - Michio Suzuki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan; Centre for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
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Parnas J, Urfer-Parnas A, Stephensen H. Double bookkeeping and schizophrenia spectrum: divided unified phenomenal consciousness. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 271:1513-1523. [PMID: 32901298 PMCID: PMC8563555 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01185-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Eugen Bleuler, the founder of the concept of schizophrenia, pointed out that psychotic patients were able to live in two disjoint worlds (namely, the social, intersubjective world and the delusional world). He termed this phenomenon "double bookkeeping," but did not provide any conceptual elaboration of this phenomenon or its possible mechanisms. Double bookkeeping has been neglected in mainstream psychiatry, but it has been addressed in recent theoretical work, however mainly concerned with the issue of delusion. In this article, we present clinical material that supports the view that double bookkeeping manifests itself across various psychotic phenomena and its antecedent may be observed in premorbid (pre-onset) phases as well as in the schizotypal disorder. We try to conceptualize double bookkeeping to concretize an often atmospheric perception of paradoxicality in the encounter with the patient. A phenomenological analysis of double bookkeeping suggests an instability in the affective ("auto-affection") articulation of selfhood. We point to four main implications of our presentation: (1) diagnostic, (2) epistemological, (3) therapeutic and (4) pathogenetic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Parnas
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Mental Health Centre Glostrup, University Hospital of Copenhagen, 2605, Brøndby, Denmark
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Annick Urfer-Parnas
- Mental Health Centre Amager, University Hospital of Copenhagen, 1610, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Helene Stephensen
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Mental Health Centre Glostrup, University Hospital of Copenhagen, 2605, Brøndby, Denmark.
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Raballo A, Poletti M, Preti A, Parnas J. The Self in the Spectrum: A Meta-analysis of the Evidence Linking Basic Self-Disorders and Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2021; 47:1007-1017. [PMID: 33479736 PMCID: PMC8266610 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Disturbed self-experience has been reported as a characteristic feature of schizophrenia since the first formulation of its diagnostic concept; however, only in the last 2 decades an explicit notion of basic Self-disturbance, or Self-Disorders (SD), has emerged as target for a systematic research program. We conducted systematic searches in bibliographical databases to identify cross-sectional studies that explored SD across different diagnostic groups and explored diagnostic ascription within or outside schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) as main outcome. Data were pooled using fixed- and random-effects meta-analysis models. Heterogeneity was assessed using stratified meta-analyses and meta-regression. Of 218 identified studies, 32 were included in the systematic review and 27 in the meta-analysis. Patients diagnosed with SSD scored higher on measures of SD than healthy controls (HC) (Hedges' g = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.5 to 2.0), individuals diagnosed with other mental illness (OMI) (1.9; 1.6 to 2.2), bipolar or affective disorders (1.8; 1.4 to 2.2), and clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) (1.6; 0.9 to 2.4). Patients with schizotypy or schizotypal personality disorder scored higher on measures of SD than OMI (1.5; 1.3 to 1.8) and HC (1.4; 1.1 to 1.7). Patients with first-episode psychosis scored higher on measures of SD than HC (2.5; 2.1 to 2.9) and OMI (1.6; 1.2 to 2.1). Subjects at CHR scored higher on measures of SD than HC (2.0; 1.7 to 2.2) and OMI (19; 1.6 to 2.2). Overall, heterogeneity ranged from negligible to high, especially in comparisons of the target group with OMI, probably as a reflection of the immanent diagnostic heterogeneity of this group. The findings suggest that SD selectively aggregate within schizophrenia spectrum disorders as compared to other mental disorders and that they could be a central phenotypic marker of vulnerability to schizophrenia across the different shades of severity of its spectrum of disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Raballo
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Center for Translational, Phenomenological and Developmental Psychopathology (CTPDP), Perugia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia Piazzale Lucio Severi 1, 06132, Perugia, Italy; tel: +39 075 5783194, fax: +39 075 5783183, e-mail:
| | - Michele Poletti
- Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Service, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Antonio Preti
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Josef Parnas
- Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark,Mental Health Centre Glostrup, University Hospital of Copenhagen, 2605, Brøndby, Denmark,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Giersch A, Huard T, Park S, Rosen C. The Strasbourg Visual Scale: A Novel Method to Assess Visual Hallucinations. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:685018. [PMID: 34177666 PMCID: PMC8219930 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.685018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The experience of oneself in the world is based on sensory afferences, enabling us to reach a first-perspective perception of our environment and to differentiate oneself from the world. Visual hallucinations may arise from a difficulty in differentiating one's own mental imagery from externally-induced perceptions. To specify the relationship between hallucinations and the disorders of the self, we need to understand the mechanisms of hallucinations. However, visual hallucinations are often under reported in individuals with psychosis, who sometimes appear to experience difficulties describing them. We developed the "Strasbourg Visual Scale (SVS)," a novel computerized tool that allows us to explore and capture the subjective experience of visual hallucinations by circumventing the difficulties associated with verbal descriptions. This scale reconstructs the hallucinated image of the participants by presenting distinct physical properties of visual information, step-by-step to help them communicate their internal experience. The strategy that underlies the SVS is to present a sequence of images to the participants whose choice at each step provides a feedback toward re-creating the internal image held by them. The SVS displays simple images on a computer screen that provide choices for the participants. Each step focuses on one physical property of an image, and the successive choices made by the participants help them to progressively build an image close to his/her hallucination, similar to the tools commonly used to generate facial composites. The SVS was constructed based on our knowledge of the visual pathways leading to an integrated perception of our environment. We discuss the rationale for the successive steps of the scale, and to which extent it could complement existing scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Giersch
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Strasbourg, France.,Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Thomas Huard
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Cherise Rosen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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