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Impaired emotion regulation in schizophrenia: evidence from event-related potentials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2013

W. P. Horan ,
G. Hajcak ,
J. K. Wynn  and
M. F. Green
W. P. Horan*
Affiliation:
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
G. Hajcak
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
J. K. Wynn
Affiliation:
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
M. F. Green
Affiliation:
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: W. P. Horan, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, MIRECC 210A, Bldg 210, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Although several aspects of emotion seem to be intact in schizophrenia, there is emerging evidence that patients show an impaired ability to adaptively regulate their emotions. This event-related potential (ERP) study examined whether schizophrenia is associated with impaired neural responses to appraisal frames, that is when negative stimuli are presented in a less negative context.

Method

Thirty-one schizophrenia out-patients and 27 healthy controls completed a validated picture-viewing task with three conditions: (1) neutral pictures preceded by neutral descriptions (‘Neutral’), (2) unpleasant pictures preceded by negative descriptions (‘Preappraised negative’), and (3) unpleasant pictures preceded by more neutral descriptions (‘Preappraised neutral’). Analyses focused on the late positive potential (LPP), an index of facilitated attention to emotional stimuli that is reduced following cognitive emotion regulation strategies, during four time windows from 300 to 2000 ms post-picture onset.

Results

Replicating prior studies, controls showed smaller LPP in Preappraised neutral and Neutral versus Preappraised negative conditions throughout the 300–2000-ms time period. By contrast, patients showed (a) larger LPP in Preappraised neutral and Preappraised negative versus Neutral conditions in the initial period (300–600 ms) and (b) an atypical pattern of larger LPP to Preappraised neutral versus Preappraised negative and Neutral conditions in the 600–1500-ms epochs.

Conclusions

Modulation of neural responses by a cognitive emotion regulation strategy seems to be impaired in schizophrenia during the first 2 s after exposure to unpleasant stimuli.

Keywords

Emotion regulationevent-related potentials (ERPs)late positive potentialschizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 43 , Issue 11 , November 2013 , pp. 2377 - 2391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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