Abstract
Although impaired ability to regulate emotion is commonly reported in schizophrenic patients, the exact pattern of regulation of negative emotions in high-risk individuals remains unclear. In the current study, 26 high-schizotypy individuals paired with 26 controls completed an emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) and a laboratory emotion regulation task with electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. Two emotion regulation strategies, namely, reappraisal and expression suppression, were concurrently examined. The late positive potential (LPP) and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) were selected as two independent neural indicators of the emotion regulation effect. In the ERQ questionnaire, individuals in the high schizotypy group reported higher habitual use of suppression than the controls. During the emotion regulation task, the high schizotypy group showed no early LPP reduction in reappraisal compared with the control group and exhibited a general negative FAA pattern (left-biased alpha). In conclusion, we found that individuals with high schizotypy exhibited maladaptive regulation of negative emotions, manifested in hindered reappraisal and biased suppression; this may exacerbate the negative affect of such emotions and further serve as a risk factor for psychosis conversion. Early interventions targeting the regulation of negative emotions may be beneficial for individuals with high schizotypal traits.
Highlights
Impaired ability to regulate emotion is commonly reported in schizophrenic patients, the exact pattern of regulation of negative emotions in high-risk individuals remains unclear
The independent sample t-test indicated that the use of reappraisal did not differ significantly in the high schizotypy group and the control group, t (50) = −1.17, p = 0.248; in contrast, suppression was significantly more frequently used in the high schizotypy group than in the control group, t (50) = −2.92, p = 0.005
By combining evidence from questionnaires, behavioral ratings and electrophysiological measures, the current study revealed that individuals with high schizotypy exhibit hindered reappraisal and biased suppression
Summary
Impaired ability to regulate emotion is commonly reported in schizophrenic patients, the exact pattern of regulation of negative emotions in high-risk individuals remains unclear. Suppression refers to the modulation of responses by suppressing behaviors associated with emotional reactions (facial expression, verbal expression, gestures, and other behaviors)[9] Both strategies momentarily reduce negative emotional experience, reappraisal has been generally considered more adaptive given its long-term association with personal well-being[6,10]. A previous study reported dysregulation of positive emotions in high schizotypy, reflecting biased habitual suppression and impaired amplification[14]; there may be important differences in the ability to regulate positive and negative emotions[36]. Van der Meer et al (2014) focused on another high-risk population, the non-affected siblings of schizophrenic patients, and found abnormal neural patterns (e.g., BOLD hypoactivation in the left frontal regions) when these individuals were regulating negative emotions through reappraisal[5]. At present, little is known about the pattern of negative emotion regulation in high schizotypes
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