Relationship of affect recognition with psychopathology and cognitive performance in schizophrenia

• Published in: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2004-07, Vol.10 (4), p.549-558
• Main Authors: BOZIKAS, VASILIS P., KOSMIDIS, MARY H., ANEZOULAKI, DIMITRA, GIANNAKOU, MARIA, KARAVATOS, ATHANASIOS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ability; Adult; Attention - physiology; Cognition - physiology; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive functioning; Cultural differences; Deficits; Emotions - physiology; Facial emotion perception; Female; Gender differences; Humans; Investigations; Male; Medical imaging; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Problem Solving - physiology; Prosody perception; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Psychopathology; Recognition (Psychology) - physiology; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - physiopathology; Schizophrenic Psychology; Trail Making Test
• ISSN: 1355-6177; 1469-7661
• DOI: 10.1017/S1355617704104074

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between emotion perception and both psychopathology and cognitive functioning in a group of Greek patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-five patients with schizophrenia were assessed with computerized tests of emotion perception, using visual faces (Kinney's Affect Matching Test, KAMT), prosody (Affective Prosody Test, APT), and visual everyday scenarios (Fantie's Cartoon Test, FCT), as well as a facial recognition test (Kinney's Identity Matching Test, KIMT). The patients were also evaluated with the symptoms dimensions derived from the PANSS (positive, negative, cognitive, depression, and excitement) and a battery of neuropsychological tests measuring executive functions, attention, working memory, verbal and visual memory, visuospatial ability, and visual scanning/psychomotor speed. The three emotion perception and face recognition tests correlated significantly with each other. The KAMT was significantly related to the cognitive symptoms dimension of the PANSS and executive functions. The FCT was significantly related to level of education and attention. Finally, the APT was significantly related to the cognitive symptoms dimension, executive functions, and attention. Our findings regarding the significant relationships of affect perception, both facial and vocal, as well as in everyday scenarios, with several cognitive abilities support the notion that deficits in decoding affective information in schizophrenia could be attributed to impairment in more basic neurocognitive domains. (JINS, 2004, 10, 549–558.)