Psychophysiological response patterns in college students with high physical anhedonia: Scores appear to reflect schizotypy rather than depression

Abstract

The Chapman physical anhedonia (AN) and perceptual aberration (AB) scales were intended to identify high risk for schizophrenia. Although schizophrenic-like dysfunctions have been reported in association with each, the issue is clouded by possible relationships with depression. We recently reported psychophysiological patterns distinguishing depression from schizophrenia. Schizophrenics showed reduced orienting response (OR) to innocuous stimuli in both electrodermal (SCR) and finger pulse (FPV) components, normalizing in both to significant signals. Depressives showed deficient, non-normalizing SCR, but normal FPV, implicating SCR/cholinergic rather than OR deficits. 16 AN, 18 AB, and 17 control students received an innocuous (habituation) tone series followed by a significant (alternating-press) series. ANs displayed schizophrenic-like rather than depressive-like response patterns, but ABs showed no coherent pattern. Findings in ANs were somewhat attenuated compared with schizophrenics, perhaps reflecting the small percentage of schizophrenics-to-be in this risk group. The absence of clear deficit in ABs agrees with studies showing OR deficits to be associated with more negative symptoms in schizophrenia.