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Feature binding and detachment in psychosis: A virtual reality study
A J Ante Schlesselmann1, G H M Marieke Pijnenborg2,3, S A Saskia Nijman3,4,5
1Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Schizophrenia Research. Cognition
|July 14, 2025
Summary
Detachment impacts memory binding in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). Higher detachment worsened the ability to link identities with angry faces, suggesting a role for psychological factors in memory deficits.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) cause cognitive deficits, impacting daily functioning.
- Episodic memory impairment in SSDs may stem from psychological detachment affecting feature binding.
- Detachment's role in memory dysfunction, especially with adverse stimuli, warrants investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between state detachment and impaired feature binding in SSDs.
- To explore how detachment affects memory encoding and retrieval of emotional stimuli.
- To utilize a virtual reality (VR) paradigm for assessing feature binding deficits.
Main Methods:
- Employed an immersive VR paradigm with 25 SSD patients and 25 controls.
- Participants identified avatar emotions and completed memory tests on identity-emotion and identity-time binding.
- State detachment was quantified using the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS).
Main Results:
- No significant differences in feature binding tasks between SSD patients and controls.
- Increased state detachment correlated with impaired identity-emotion binding for angry faces across all participants.
- This suggests detachment affects memory for specific aversive stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Findings offer preliminary support for detachment's role in feature binding deficits for angry faces.
- Psychological mechanisms like detachment may contribute to memory dysfunction in SSDs.
- Further research is needed on detachment's impact on memory, particularly for adverse stimuli.
