Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Neuroscience Institute, SNU-MRC, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Schizophr Res. 2010 May;118(1-3):81-7. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.01.003. Epub 2010 Feb 4.
Discrepancies in the ability to recognize faces constitute an important aspect of the impaired social cognitive abilities of patients with schizophrenia. Previous studies have suggested that specific problems with the processing of facial configuration affect the face-recognition deficit in patients with schizophrenia. However, little is known about whether these deficits in face recognition are present before the onset of schizophrenia.
This study compared performances on a face processing task among three groups: individuals at ultra-high risk for schizophrenia (n=20), patients with schizophrenia (n=18), and normal controls (n=20) using a face-discrimination task involving pairs of photographs depicting upright and inverted images with changing features and configurations. Chair stimuli were used as the control task.
The individuals at ultra-high risk for schizophrenia performed more poorly than did normal controls with regard to the processing of facial configuration but not the facial feature and did not differ significantly from the patients with schizophrenia with regard to the processing of facial configuration and upright facial features.
This study suggests that a specific dysfunction in the processing of facial configuration, which has an impact on face recognition, might be present before and deteriorate in patients with schizophrenia. Deficits in face recognition among individuals at risk for psychosis might contribute significantly to the social dysfunction associated with schizophrenia.
识别面孔的能力差异是精神分裂症患者社会认知能力受损的一个重要方面。先前的研究表明，面部结构处理方面的特定问题会影响精神分裂症患者的面孔识别缺陷。然而，对于这些面孔识别缺陷是否存在于精神分裂症发病之前，我们知之甚少。
本研究使用涉及具有变化特征和配置的正立和倒置图像对的照片对的面孔辨别任务，比较了超高风险精神分裂症个体（n=20）、精神分裂症患者（n=18）和正常对照组（n=20）三组在面孔处理任务上的表现。椅子刺激被用作对照任务。
超高风险精神分裂症个体在处理面部结构方面的表现明显差于正常对照组，但在处理面部特征方面没有明显差异，并且在处理面部结构和正立面部特征方面与精神分裂症患者没有明显差异。
本研究表明，特定的面部结构处理功能障碍可能存在于精神分裂症患者之前，并在其发病后恶化。精神病风险个体的面孔识别缺陷可能会显著导致与精神分裂症相关的社会功能障碍。
