Abstract
It is known that individuals with schizophrenia exhibit signs of impaired face processing, however, the exact perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying these deficits are yet to be elucidated. One possible source of confusion in the current literature is the methodological and conceptual inconsistencies that can arise from the varied treatment of different aspects of face processing relating to emotional and non-emotional aspects of face perception. This review aims to disentangle the literature by focusing on the performance of patients with schizophrenia in a range of tasks that required processing of non-emotional features of face stimuli (e.g., identity or gender). We also consider the performance of patients on non-face stimuli that share common elements such as familiarity (e.g., cars) and social relevance (e.g., gait). We conclude by exploring whether observed deficits are best considered as “face-specific” and note that further investigation is required to properly assess the potential contribution of more generalized attentional or perceptual impairments.
Highlights
Face processing deficits have been repeatedly demonstrated in patients with schizophrenia, debate continues regarding the precise nature of these impairments and the mechanisms that underlie them
Invariant information is proposed to be processed via a ventral temporal route including the inferior occipital and fusiform gyri
Deficits in face processing have frequently been observed in patients with schizophrenia
Summary
Face processing deficits have been repeatedly demonstrated in patients with schizophrenia, debate continues regarding the precise nature of these impairments and the mechanisms that underlie them. In contrast to the vast literature using tasks involving identification or recognition of facial expression and the relationship to impaired emotion processing (see Kohler et al, 2010), relatively little has been done to systematically assess face processing outside an emotional context in individuals with schizophrenia (c.f. a review in the current issue comparing face recognition deficits in schizophrenia and autism Watson, 2013). Invariant (unchangeable) information is proposed to be processed via a ventral temporal route including the inferior occipital and fusiform gyri. These two routes have differing degrees of connectivity with either limbic or cortical regions outside these face selective areas of visual extrastriate cortex
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