A temporal examination of co-activated emotion valence networks in schizophrenia and schizotypy

Abstract

Emotional abnormalities are prominent across the schizophrenia spectrum. To better define these abnormalities, we examined state emotional functions across opposing ends of the spectrum, notably in chronic outpatients with schizophrenia (Study 1) and college students with psychometrically defined schizotypy (Study 2). In line with existing studies, we predicted that individuals with schizophrenia would show unusually co-activated positive and negative emotions while college students with schizotypy would show abnormally low positive and abnormally high negative emotions. Drawing from the affective science literature, we employed continuous emotion ratings in response to a dynamic and evocatively “bittersweet” stimulus. Participants included 27 individuals with schizophrenia, 39 individuals with psychometrically defined schizotypy and 26 community and 35 college control participants. Participants continuously rated their state happiness and sadness throughout a six-minute clip from a tragicomic film (i.e., Life is Beautiful). In contrast to expectations as well as the extant literature, there were no state emotional abnormalities noted from either schizophrenia-spectrum group. Of particular note, neither individuals with schizophrenia nor individuals with schizotypy were abnormal in their experience of state negative, positive or coactivated emotions. Conversely, abnormalities in trait emotion were observed in both groups relative to their respective control groups. These results help confirm that the schizophrenia-spectrum is not characterized by deficits in state emotional experience and suggest that sadness is not abnormally co-activated with pleasant emotions. These results are critical for clarifying the “chronometry” of emotional dysfunctions across the schizophrenia-spectrum.