Facial affect recognition in first-episode psychosis is impaired but not associated with psychotic symptoms
Cornelia Larsson,
Maria Lee,
Tobias Lundgren,
Sophie Erhardt,
Carl M. Sellgren,
Simon Cervenka,
Jacqueline Borg,
Sven Bölte,
Helena Fatouros-Bergman
Affiliations
Cornelia Larsson
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Corresponding author.
Maria Lee
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Tobias Lundgren
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Sophie Erhardt
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Carl M. Sellgren
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Simon Cervenka
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Jacqueline Borg
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Sven Bölte
Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Helena Fatouros-Bergman
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Introduction: Social dysfunction is a key feature of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia linked to disability. Less is known about social functioning in the early stages of the disorder and if there is an association to psychotic symptoms. Aims: Investigate if antipsychotic drug-naïve or briefly medicated individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), have impaired facial affect recognition (FAR) compared to control participants and if psychotic symptoms are associated with the FAR ability. Method: Individuals with FEP (n = 67) and control participants (n = 51) performed a computer-aided FAR task on basic emotions. Psychotic symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Group performances were compared using age and gender as covariates. The associations between FAR and performance on the subscales of PANSS were analyzed. Results: Compared to control participants, individuals with FEP were impaired in general FAR (Beta = -2.04 [95 % conf: -3.75/-1.62], p < 0.001) and FAR of negative emotions (Beta = -1.74 [95 % conf: -3.08/-1.22], p < 0.001), driven by difficulties in recognition of anger and disgust. In both groups, there was a pattern of mistaking negative emotions for other negative emotions. There were no significant group differences in FAR of happiness. No significant associations between FAR and psychotic symptoms were observed. Discussion: The results indicate that FAR, an underlying mechanism of social functioning is impaired early in the course of psychotic disorders. Current findings do not support the hypothesis that misinterpretation of facial expressions in individuals with FEP underlies or contributes to symptoms of psychosis.
