Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2023.515

MISATTRIBUTION OF EMOTIONAL OVER-AROUSAL TO NEUTRAL FACES IN ACUTE PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA PSYCHOSIS

Evelina Haralanova ; Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology ; University Hospital for Neurology and Psychiatry “St. Naum”, Sofia, Bulgaria, First Psychiatric Clinic
Emil Milushev ; Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, Department of Neurology ; University Hospital for Neurology and Psychiatry “St. Naum”, Sofia, Bulgaria, Neurological Rehabilitation Clinic
Ángel José Martín Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).
Mercedes María Lucrecia Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina
Augusto Pascual Ítalo Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina
Marcos Constantino Josué Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina
Manuel Alejandro Guevara ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina
Adriana Inés Landa De Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina
Norman Darío López ; Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Universidad de La Costa. Barranquilla, Colombia
José Vicente Lafuente ; Laboratorio de Neurociencias Clínicas y Experimentales. Departamento de Neurociencias. Universidad del País Vasco
Pascual Ángel Gargiulo ; Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology. Fundación Corporación Tecnológica Latinoamericana (FUCOTEL).Area of Pharmacology, Department of Pathology. Faculty of Medical Sciences. National University of Cuyo. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET, Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina; Cathedra of Psychopathology. Faculty of Humanities and Economical Sciences. Catholic University of Argentina. Mendoza, Argentina
Svetlozar Haralanov ; Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology ; University Hospital for Neurology and Psychiatry “St. Naum”, Sofia, Bulgaria, First Psychiatric Clinic

Abstract

Introduction: Misattribution of motivational salience to non-salient (neutral) stimuli could be viewed as a hallmark of psychosis
in schizophrenia. Studies have recently revealed increased subjective experience of emotional arousal (EA) to neutral social stimuli
in paranoid schizophrenia psychosis, suggesting a misattribution of emotional salience to them. We examined this phenomenon directly
by quantifying the level of EA subjectively attributed to low-arousal, neutral-valenced faces.
Subjects and Methods: A task for EA attribution to neutral (in the context of affective) facial expressions was applied to 44
actively psychotic paranoid schizophrenia inpatients and 44 well-matched healthy controls.
Results: Psychotic patients, compared with healthy controls, rated the neutral faces as more aroused (t (86) = 3.15, p =.001) thus
misattributing emotional salience to them.
Discussion: This finding supports the hypothesis that over-assignment of EA to neutral faces could be viewed as a subclinical
affective mechanism of the clinically manifested experience of delusional perception.
Conclusion: The study provides the first direct empirical evidence for misattribution of emotional salience in terms of over-attribution
of EA to neutral faces during acute paranoid schizophrenia psychosis.

Keywords

Schizophrenia; misattribution; neutral; stimuli; delusion; perception; emotional salience

Hrčak ID:

311409

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/311409

Publication date:

9.11.2023.

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