Korean J Schizophr Res.  2015 Apr;18(1):21-27. 10.16946/kjsr.2015.18.1.21.

Characteristics of Self-Other Boundary Recognition Using Morphed Face Pictures in Patients with Schizophrenia

• Oh ST
• Hong YJ
• Shin YB
• Yoon HJ
• Sun JY
• Kim DH
• Kim JM
• Kim JJ

• KMID: 2288314
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.16946/kjsr.2015.18.1.21

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Disturbance in self-experience has been considered to be a core feature of schizophrenia. Evidence from mirror face-recognition tasks supports the connection between self-face recognition and self-awareness which is a part of self-experience. The aim of this study was to investigate the self-other boundary recognition using morphed face pictures in patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
Twenty-one patients with schizophrenia and twenty-three healthy controls completed the self-face recognition task that consisted of various morphed pictures. Participant's own picture was morphed with each of three different, unknown, gender-matched facial identities in steps of 10% ; each pair producing 11 images with graded blending of facial features. Thirty-three images in total were randomly presented as stimuli in a run, which was repeated three times. Participants were instructed to choose whether the stimulus was self-face or not.
RESULTS
Self-face proportion was significantly lower in the schizophrenia group at both recognition start point I and II (33.33% vs. 53.04%, p<0.001 ; 61.43% vs. 70.87%, p=0.01, respectively). Using the mean value of each recognition start point in the control group, we calculated the difference in self-face proportion for each individual with schizophrenia. There was a significant correlation between the degree of this difference and total Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) score at recognition start point I (r=0.507, p=0.019).
CONCLUSION
The difference in self-other boundary recognition in this study may account for self-disturbance of schizophrenia. Its correlation with SANS total score may reflect the shared nature of persistent disturbance between the disturbance in self-experience and the negative symptom.

Keyword

Schizophrenia; Self-experience; Self-other boundary; Negative symptom

MeSH Terms

Humans
Schizophrenia*

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Recognition Start Point. HC : Healthy control, SPR : Schizophrenia.

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  Fig. 2. Scatter plot between Difference in Recognition Start Point I and SANS score in Schizophrenia group. r : Pearson's correlation efficient

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