Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Schizophr Bull. 2011 Nov;37(6):1281-94. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbq046. Epub 2010 May 19.
Temporal lobe abnormalities and emotion recognition deficits are prominent features of schizophrenia and appear related to the diathesis of the disorder. This study investigated whether temporal lobe structural abnormalities were associated with facial emotion recognition deficits in schizophrenia and related to genetic liability for the disorder. Twenty-seven schizophrenia patients, 23 biological family members, and 36 controls participated. Several temporal lobe regions (fusiform, superior temporal, middle temporal, amygdala, and hippocampus) previously associated with face recognition in normative samples and found to be abnormal in schizophrenia were evaluated using volumetric analyses. Participants completed a facial emotion recognition task and an age recognition control task under time-limited and self-paced conditions. Temporal lobe volumes were tested for associations with task performance. Group status explained 23% of the variance in temporal lobe volume. Left fusiform gray matter volume was decreased by 11% in patients and 7% in relatives compared with controls. Schizophrenia patients additionally exhibited smaller hippocampal and middle temporal volumes. Patients were unable to improve facial emotion recognition performance with unlimited time to make a judgment but were able to improve age recognition performance. Patients additionally showed a relationship between reduced temporal lobe gray matter and poor facial emotion recognition. For the middle temporal lobe region, the relationship between greater volume and better task performance was specific to facial emotion recognition and not age recognition. Because schizophrenia patients exhibited a specific deficit in emotion recognition not attributable to a generalized impairment in face perception, impaired emotion recognition may serve as a target for interventions.
颞叶异常和情绪识别缺陷是精神分裂症的突出特征，似乎与该疾病的素质有关。本研究调查了颞叶结构异常是否与精神分裂症患者的面部情绪识别缺陷有关，以及是否与该疾病的遗传易感性有关。27 名精神分裂症患者、23 名生物学亲属和 36 名对照者参与了研究。使用容积分析评估了几个先前与正常样本中的面孔识别相关且在精神分裂症中发现异常的颞叶区域（梭状回、颞上回、中颞回、杏仁核和海马体）。参与者在限时和自定节奏条件下完成面部情绪识别任务和年龄识别控制任务。测试了颞叶体积与任务表现的相关性。群体状态解释了颞叶体积变异的 23%。与对照组相比，患者的左侧梭状回灰质体积减少了 11%，亲属的体积减少了 7%。精神分裂症患者还表现出海马体和中颞叶体积较小。患者无法通过无限的时间来提高面部情绪识别表现，但能够提高年龄识别表现。患者还表现出颞叶灰质减少与面部情绪识别能力差之间的关系。对于中颞叶区域，体积较大与任务表现较好的关系特定于面部情绪识别，而不是年龄识别。由于精神分裂症患者表现出无法归因于一般面孔感知受损的特定情绪识别缺陷，因此受损的情绪识别可能成为干预的目标。
