University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Psychiatry Res. 2010 Jun 30;178(1):73-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.04.023. Epub 2010 May 14.
Alterations in the ratio between the 2nd and 4th finger digits have been posited as a potential indicator of increased liability for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. We compared digit ratios in two groups of psychometrically-identified schizotypes, namely, those characterized by positive schizotypy (perceptual aberrations and magical ideation; n=76) and those characterized by negative schizotypy (social anhedonia; n=64), to a control group (n=110). The groups were also compared in terms of their performance on a measure of Theory of Mind, namely, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and trait affect, as measured by the PANAS. Our results indicate that neither negative schizotypy nor positive schizotypy is associated with altered digit ratios. Similarly, the groups showed no significant differences on the RMET. However, we observed a small but significant inverse association between Theory of Mind performance and negative affect. The findings are considered in light of the extant literature. These results call into question the viability of altered digit ratios to serve as an indicator of increased risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.
第二和第四指之间的比率变化被认为是自闭症和精神分裂症等神经发育障碍风险增加的潜在指标。我们比较了两组通过心理测量确定的精神分裂症特质者的指比率，分别是表现出正精神分裂症特质（感知偏差和神奇思维；n=76）和表现出负精神分裂症特质（社交快感缺失；n=64）的特质者，以及对照组（n=110）。我们还比较了这些组在心理理论测量（即“读心测试”）和特质情绪方面的表现，特质情绪通过 PANAS 进行测量。我们的研究结果表明，无论是负精神分裂症特质还是正精神分裂症特质都与指比率的变化无关。同样，各组在“读心测试”上也没有显著差异。然而，我们观察到心理理论表现与负性情绪之间存在小但显著的负相关。研究结果是在现有文献的基础上得出的。这些结果质疑了指比率变化作为精神分裂症谱系障碍风险增加的指标的可行性。
