TY - JOUR
T1 - Abnormal agency experiences in schizophrenia patients
T2 - Examining the role of psychotic symptoms and familial risk
AU - Prikken, Merel
AU - van der Weiden, Anouk
AU - Renes, Robert A
AU - Koevoets, Martijn G J C
AU - Heering, Henriette D
AU - Kahn, René S
AU - Aarts, Henk
AU - van Haren, Neeltje E M
N1 - Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/4
Y1 - 2017/4
N2 - Experiencing self-agency over one's own action outcomes is essential for social functioning. Recent research revealed that patients with schizophrenia do not use implicitly available information about their action-outcomes (i.e., prime-based agency inference) to arrive at self-agency experiences. Here, we examined whether this is related to symptoms and/or familial risk to develop the disease. Fifty-four patients, 54 controls, and 19 unaffected (and unrelated) siblings performed an agency inference task, in which experienced agency was measured over action-outcomes that matched or mismatched outcome-primes that were presented before action performance. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) were administered to assess psychopathology. Impairments in prime-based inferences did not differ between patients with symptoms of over- and underattribution. However, patients with agency underattribution symptoms reported significantly lower overall self-agency experiences. Siblings displayed stronger prime-based agency inferences than patients, but weaker prime-based inferences than healthy controls. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Findings suggest that impairments in prime-based agency inferences may be a trait characteristic of schizophrenia. Moreover, this study may stimulate further research on the familial basis and the clinical relevance of impairments in implicit agency inferences.
AB - Experiencing self-agency over one's own action outcomes is essential for social functioning. Recent research revealed that patients with schizophrenia do not use implicitly available information about their action-outcomes (i.e., prime-based agency inference) to arrive at self-agency experiences. Here, we examined whether this is related to symptoms and/or familial risk to develop the disease. Fifty-four patients, 54 controls, and 19 unaffected (and unrelated) siblings performed an agency inference task, in which experienced agency was measured over action-outcomes that matched or mismatched outcome-primes that were presented before action performance. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) were administered to assess psychopathology. Impairments in prime-based inferences did not differ between patients with symptoms of over- and underattribution. However, patients with agency underattribution symptoms reported significantly lower overall self-agency experiences. Siblings displayed stronger prime-based agency inferences than patients, but weaker prime-based inferences than healthy controls. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Findings suggest that impairments in prime-based agency inferences may be a trait characteristic of schizophrenia. Moreover, this study may stimulate further research on the familial basis and the clinical relevance of impairments in implicit agency inferences.
KW - Adult
KW - Family/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Photic Stimulation/methods
KW - Psychomotor Performance/physiology
KW - Psychotic Disorders/diagnosis
KW - Risk Factors
KW - Schizophrenia/diagnosis
KW - Schizophrenic Psychology
KW - Siblings/psychology
KW - Young Adult
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.077
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.077
M3 - Article
C2 - 28189096
SN - 0165-1781
VL - 250
SP - 270
EP - 276
JO - Psychiatry Research
JF - Psychiatry Research
ER -