[Emotional behavior in schizophrenia and one-sided brain damage. Cerebral hemispheric asymmetry. Part I]

Although, emotions play a crucial role in schizophrenia, the changes in emotional dimension in relation to brain asymmetry still remain controversial. The aim of our work was: 1) to compare the emotional behaviour between the examined groups: S--non-chronic schizophrenic patients (n = 50), CS--chronic schizophrenic patients (n = 50), N--healthy controls (n = 50), R--right brain-damaged patients (n = 30), and L--left brain-damaged patients (n = 30), 2) to assess the changes in attitude processes and in types of emotional reactions, its relation to lateralised hemisphere damage and chronicity of the schizophrenic process. All psychiatric subjects were diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenics according to DSM-IV criteria and were scored on the PANSS scale after four weeks of neuroleptic treatment. Brain-damaged patients were included if they experienced single-episode cerebrovascular accidents causing right or left hemisphere damage (confirmed in CT scan reports). The neurological patients were examined at least 3 weeks after the onset of the episode. Emotional behaviour was assessed using Observational Scale of Emotional Behaviour aimed at the evaluation of: A) attitude processes B) the emotional reactions. Our results revealed differentiated type of emotional behaviour in the examined population. Right brain-damaged patients significantly often revealed elevated mood, lack of adequacy of self-evaluation and active or negative attitude towards the environment. Left brain-damaged patients showed depressed mood, resignation, positive or seldom passive attitude to others and adequate self-evaluation. Schizophrenic patients mostly revealed indifferent mood and passive attitude to environment, their self-evaluation was rather adequate. Based on our data, the changes in emotional behaviour in schizophrenic patients might reflect frontal lobes dysfunction rather than dysfunction localised in one of cerebral hemispheres.