[Perception of chimeric faces in schizophrenia and right hemispheric dysfunction].

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Cerebral specialization influences emotional perception.
• Schizophrenia and right brain damage are associated with perceptual alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess cerebral specialization in emotional chimeric drawing perception among non-chronic schizophrenics, chronic schizophrenics, right brain-damaged patients, and healthy controls.
• To investigate potential right cerebral hemisphere dysfunction in emotional perception.

Main Methods:

• Utilized happy-sad chimeric face drawings to evaluate perceiver bias towards the left hemiface (LHF bias) and sad bias.
• Assessed 50 non-chronic schizophrenics, 50 chronic schizophrenics, 30 right brain-damaged patients, and 50 healthy controls.
• Measured schizophrenia symptomatology using the PANSS scale and patient mood via a visual analogue scale.

Main Results:

• Schizophrenic and right brain-damaged patients exhibited significantly weaker LHF bias compared to healthy controls, suggesting right hemisphere dysfunction.
• Chronic schizophrenic patients displayed weaker LHF bias and sad bias than non-chronic schizophrenics.
• No correlation was found between perceptual bias and clinical ratings (PANSS, MMSE, hospitalizations, neuroleptic dose, mood).

Conclusions:

• Right cerebral hemisphere dysfunction may underlie altered perception of emotional chimeric drawings in schizophrenia and right brain damage.
• Chronic schizophrenia is associated with more pronounced deficits in emotional perception, including sadness processing.
• The observed perceptual deficits appear to be stable characteristics, independent of clinical status or current mood.