Introvertive Anhedonia Research Articles

T66 - The Neuregulin-1 Gene Is Associated With Schizotypy In The General Population

Background It is believed that the personality characteristics and symptoms observed in schizophrenia lie on a continuum, with subclinical symptoms referred to as schizotypy. The continuum theory of schizophrenia recognises schizotypy as a suitable model for investigating schizophrenia: individuals with high levels of schizotypy demonstrate similar symptoms, cognitive profiles and neuroimaging findings to schizophrenia, albeit in a more subtle manner, without the potential confounding factors associated with schizophrenia. Both schizophrenia and schizotypy have been shown to be influenced by genetic factors. Neuregulin-1 (NRG1), involved in neuronal development, migration, myelination and synaptic plasticity, has been identified as a promising candidate gene for schizophrenia risk. Several NRG1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with schizophrenia and cognitive deficits, though only one SNP has been previously associated with schizotypy. The aim of this study was to examine the link between NRG1 and schizotypy across the schizotypy/schizophrenia continuum. Methods Participants were 200 adults (83 patients with schizophrenia and 117 healthy controls) who were assessed for schizotypy factors using the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experience (O-LIFE). The factors assessed were unusual experiences (UnEx), introvertive anhedonia (InAn) and cognitive disorganisation (CogDis), which are thought to reflect the positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia respectively. Participants were also genotyped for five NRG1 SNPs; rs10503929, rs3924999, rs2466058, rs35753505 and rs6994992. A MANOVA was conducted with schizotypy factors as dependent variables and participant group as independent variables to observe differences between patients and controls. Another MANOVA was conducted with schizotypy factors as dependent variables and NRG1 SNPs as independent variables to observe differences and interactions of the NRG1 SNPs on schizotypy across the continuum. Results Confirming previous findings, schizotypy scores were significantly higher in the patient group as compared to controls (p Discussion This is the first study to demonstrate an association between NRG1 and schizotypy across the continuum, in particular CogDis. From this, it can be inferred that genetic variation in NRG1 may be a contributing factor to cognitive deficits in the clinical population, consistent with previous findings. As individual SNPs were not significantly associated with schizotypy but significant interactions were observed, this study also demonstrates the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. This finding contributes to the literature associating NRG1 with cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and supports the use of schizotypy as a model for schizophrenia.

French Validation of the O-LIFE Short Questionnaire

Abstract. The original 104-item Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) questionnaire is a validated schizotypy questionnaire distinguishing three schizotypy dimensions (Unusual experiences, Introvertive anhedonia, Cognitive disorganization). It also includes items on Impulsive nonconformity assessing traits sensitive to borderline and antisocial personality. Recently, Mason et al. (2005) published a shortened 43-item version including all sub-dimensions. The aim of this study was to validate a French version of this short form and to study the relationships between its French- and English-speaking versions. O-LIFE short data was obtained from 1,048 students from two higher education institutions in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Results were compared with those from an English normative sample (n = 439). A series of confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable configural and metric invariances across the two language versions. Moreover, results from the French data support the use of both four- and three-dimensional models of schizotypy and show expected correlations with other relevant self-report instruments. This French version of the O-LIFE short form is an appropriate tool to use in French-speaking environments.

Creativity and the measurement of subclinical psychopathology in the general population: Schizotypy, psychoticism, and hypomania.

The aims of the study were to investigate the roles of well-known psychopathology measures in predicting creativity, to assess the concepts of a multitrait and single trait understanding, and to evaluate the role of latent measures of hypomania predicting creativity. Following the completion of a battery of questionnaires 203 participants completed 2 creative cognition tasks. Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed significant effects for both schizotypy and the latent hypomania scales. Critically, these showed that some negatively (introvertive anhedonia, excitement, and social vitality) and others positively (impulsive nonconformity and mood volatility) predicted creativity. These findings suggest future avenues should evaluate the roles of mood, autonomy, and asociality in mediating the link between subclinical psychopathology and creativity. Further, research should both manipulate state and control trait mood when evaluating psychopathology and creativity.

The measurement invariance of schizotypy in Europe

The short version of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (sO-LIFE) is a widely used measure assessing schizotypy. There is limited information, however, on how sO-LIFE scores compare across different countries. The main goal of the present study is to test the measurement invariance of the sO-LIFE scores in a large sample of non-clinical adolescents and young adults from four European countries (UK, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain). The scores were obtained from validated versions of the sO-LIFE in their respective languages. The sample comprised 4190 participants (M=20.87 years; SD=3.71 years). The study of the internal structure, using confirmatory factor analysis, revealed that both three (i.e., positive schizotypy, cognitive disorganisation, and introvertive anhedonia) and four-factor (i.e., positive schizotypy, cognitive disorganisation, introvertive anhedonia, and impulsive nonconformity) models fitted the data moderately well. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor model had partial strong measurement invariance across countries. Eight items were non-invariant across samples. Significant statistical differences in the mean scores of the s-OLIFE were found by country. Reliability scores, estimated with Ordinal alpha ranged from 0.75 to 0.87. Using the Item Response Theory framework, the sO-LIFE provides more accuracy information at the medium and high end of the latent trait. The current results show further evidence in support of the psychometric proprieties of the sO-LIFE, provide new information about the cross-cultural equivalence of schizotypy and support the use of this measure to screen for psychotic-like features and liability to psychosis in general population samples from different European countries.

Schizotypal Traits are Associated with Poorer Executive Functioning in Healthy Adults.

Previous research has shown mild forms of the neurocognitive impairments seen in schizophrenia among healthy individuals exhibiting high schizotypal traits. This study aimed to explore associations between schizotypy and cognitive performance in an adult community sample. Ninety-five females and 79 males completed the Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE), which measures four separable aspects of schizotypy: cognitive disorganization, unusual experiences, introvertive anhedonia, and impulsive non-conformity. Subsequently, participants were administered a neurocognitive battery incorporating measures of executive skills including inhibition, cognitive flexibility, reasoning, and problem solving along with measures of attention and processing speed and both verbal and spatial working memory. In line with predictions, the current study found that higher scores on the subscales of unusual experiences, cognitive disorganization, and impulsive non-conformity related to worse performance on a measure of inhibition. Additionally, as introvertive anhedonia increased, both attention and processing speed and reasoning and problem-solving performance became more impaired. In conclusion, this study extends schizotypy literature by examining the subscales of the O-LIFE, and enables inferences to be drawn in relation to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

The Role of Schizotypy in Predicting Performance on Figural and Verbal Imagery-Based Measures of Creativity

There are many anecdotal reports of a link between psychopathology and creativity. The strongest links have been purported between creativity psychosis, schizotypy, and personality. The aim of this study was to investigate the link between schizotypy and imagery-based measures of creativity; Barron's (1988) Symbolic Equivalence Test and Finke's (1990) Creative Visualization Task. One-hundred and thirty-three participants took part in an investigation in to the relationship and the predictive nature of schizotypy on imagery-based verbal and figural creativity measures. Correlational analyses and hierarchical multiple regressions showed that the variable unusual experiences significantly predicted creative visualization total correspondence performance. Conversely, it negatively predicted originality while the variable cognitive disorganization positively predicted this measure. Neither impulsive nonconformity nor introvertive anhedonia predicted creativity. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research that did not partial the generative and originality aspects of creativity and proposes future research to understand the roles of the schizotypy measures in creativity.

Extreme Elemental Processing in a High Schizotypy Population: Relation to Cognitive Deficits

The cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia have been characterized as a failure to utilize task-setting information to guide behaviour, especially in situations in which there is response conflict. Recently, we have provided support for this account; high schizotypy individuals demonstrated inferior biconditional discrimination performance compared to low scorers, but were not impaired on a simple discrimination that did not require the use of task-setting cues. These results may, however, also be explained by the way in which individuals with high schizotypy process stimulus compounds. Here, we examine the initial approaches to solving biconditional and control discrimination tasks of participants with high and low schizotypy scores. In particular, we focus on performance during the first block of training trials to capture processing style before the acquisition of the discrimination tasks. Participants scoring highly on the introvertive anhedonia subscale (which has been allied to the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia) demonstrated better biconditional performance during the first block of training trials than did low-schizotypy individuals, consistent with a highly elemental approach to stimulus processing. Subsequent recognition tests confirmed this analysis demonstrating that the pattern of performance observed in participants with high schizotypy was associated with a failure to discriminate conjunctions of items that had been seen before from those that had not. These results suggest that the negative/cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia may reflect an extreme bias towards elemental, as opposed to configural, processing of stimulus conjunctions.

The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) schizotypy scale in psychiatry

The aim of this paper is to describe a schizotypy scale, the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE), and its use in psychiatry. Schizotypy is a biologically determined personality phenomenon. Schizotypal disorder, as a diagnostic category in contemporary psychiatric classifications, has been included in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This may reflect similarities in neurobiological and neuropsychological features between persons with schizotypy and patients with schizophrenia. However, schizotypal traits are also more marked in bipolar disorder (BD) compared with those in healthy subjects. The O-LIFE was created by Claridge and his co-workers and consists of four dimensions: unusual experiences, cognitive disorganisation, introvertive anhedonia and impulsive nonconformity. Studies using O-LIFE in psychiatry, demonstrated a number of associations between the dimensions of the O-LIFE and the clinical features of schizophrenia, in mood disorders and in healthy persons. In patients with BD treated with lithium carbonate, worse effects of lithium were observed in subjects with high scores on the O-LIFE dimensions (particularly cognitive disorganisation). Recently, some molecular-genetic associations have also been shown between O-LIFE dimensions and polymorphisms of the dopaminergic system and circadian rhythm genes.

Latent profile analysis of healthy schizotypy within the extended psychosis phenotype

Converging evidence suggests that psychosis exists on a continuum, and that even mentally “healthy” individuals may experience subclinical psychotic experiences. However, little research has examined the subjective and psychological well-being of individuals in the putatively healthy end of the continuum. This study explored the latent profile structure of schizotypy in a non-clinical sample and compared subjective and psychological well-being across schizotypy profiles. Latent profile analysis was conducted on participants' responses (N=420) to the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. Six latent profiles emerged: Low Schizotypy, Average, High Schizotypy, High Unusual Experiences (UE), High Introvertive Anhedonia, and High Introvertive Anhedonia/Cognitive Disorganization. Individuals in the profile characterized by high UE without negative, disorganized or impulsive features tended to endorse similar levels of well-being as the Average and Low Schizotypy profiles. With some exceptions, all three profiles also demonstrated significantly greater subjective and psychological well-being when compared to negative/disorganized schizotypy profiles. The UE profile most closely aligns with previous conceptualizations of “healthy schizotypy.” Future research should investigate how individuals in this profile make sense of unusual or ambiguous experiences that may lead to distress in clinical populations.

P.4.010 Association of personality features with lithium prophylactic response

Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct indexing psychometric risk for schizophrenia. This study investigated the factor structure and clinical associations of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) short scales, assessed at follow-up in an originally help-seeking sample identified as ultra-high risk for psychosis.Participants were 228 help-seeking individuals identified as ultra-high risk for psychosis between 2 and 14 years previously (mean, 7.09; SD, 3.17; median, 6.41). The 43-item O-LIFE short scales (Unusual Experiences, Introvertive Anhedonia, Cognitive Disorganization, Impulsive Nonconformity) and indices of depression, anxiety, positive and negative psychotic symptoms, functioning, and quality of life were administered at follow-up. Structural equation modeling was used.Impulsive Nonconformity was shown to be an unstable factor and was excluded. A 3-factor model of Unusual Experiences, Cognitive Disorganization, and Introvertive Anhedonia was found to be the best description of the data, compared with a 1-factor model. Unusual Experiences factor was associated with positive psychotic symptoms; Cognitive Disorganization was associated with depression and anxiety; and Introvertive Anhedonia was associated with positive and negative psychotic symptoms, quality of life, and functioning.The Impulsive Nonconformity factor of the O-LIFE short scales should be interpreted with caution. A well-fitting 3-factor model provides support for a dimensional structure in schizotypy that is similar to that of schizophrenia. Separate dimensions were differentially associated with psychopathology, functioning, and quality of life. The interpersonal dimension of schizotypy was the only dimension associated with poorer functioning and quality of life and may be a sensitive indicator of need for care.

The relationship between schizotypal ideation and subjective cognition reflects more than just cognitive disorganisation: Introducing the Brief Cognitive Schizotypy Index

Introduction.Internet surveys of psychometric schizotypy can usefully explore the relationship between the schizophrenia spectrum and cognition, but significant participant drop-out can be a difficulty. We aimed to identify the aspects of schizotypal thinking associated with self-reported cognitive difficulties with a view to developing a brief index of schizotypy that is maximally sensitive to subjective cognitive complaints.Method.Two online surveys were launched over two years. One explored schizotypal personality and subjective cognition. The other provided data for principal components analyses. The OLIFE was used in both surveys alongside other more specific measures of schizotypal features and a measure of affect.Results.Fifteen OLIFE cognitive disorganisation items, seven OLIFE unusual experiences items and three OLIFE introvertive anhedonia items were reliably associated with a range of self-reported cognitive difficulties as measured by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. The 25 items of the new Brief Cognitive Schizotypy Index (BCSI) loaded on three factors, labelled Unusual experiences, Affect and Cognition. The BCSI correlated strongly with a propensity to hallucinations scale, a persecutory ideation scale and two other measures of everyday cognition. These correlations survived correction for the role of prevailing negative affect.Conclusions.Particular aspects of schizotypal ideation, reflecting the full range of such experiences, are related to reports of day-to-day cognitive difficulties. Future work should replicate these findings in a wider sample and explore relationships with objective cognitive measures.

Aversive conditioning, schizotypy, and affective temperament in the framework of the salience hypothesis

During classic conditioning, the processing of conditioned stimuli (CSs+) is enhanced relative to neutral stimuli (CSs−). In patients with psychotic disorders, CSs− become abnormally relevant relative to CSs+, which may lead to the formation of aberrant associations. In this study, we explored how schizotypal and affective personality traits are associated with salience processing in nonclinical individuals. We used aversive conditioning and personality questionnaires in 100 healthy volunteers. The CSs+ were colored circles predicting the unconditioned stimulus (US), which was a loud noise. Circles of another color were the CSs− predicting no US. Conditioning was measured with skin conductance responses (SCRs) and reaction time. Results revealed that higher reality distortion, introvertive anhedonia, and cyclothymic personality negatively correlated with SCRs and positively correlated with reaction time for CSs+, which indicates less efficient conditioning. After taking into account the covariance between these personality traits, only reality distortion and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ SCRs, and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ reaction time. Enhanced responses to CSs− were positively predicted only by reality distortion. These results suggest that salience-processing biases are related to schizotypal personality traits in healthy individuals, exhibiting a similar pattern to that observed in psychotic disorders.

Cognitive disorganisation in schizotypy is associated with deterioration in visual backward masking

To understand the causes of schizophrenia, a search for stable markers (endophenotypes) is ongoing. In previous years, we have shown that the shine-through visual backward masking paradigm meets the most important characteristics of an endophenotype. Here, we tested masking performance differences between healthy students with low and high schizotypy scores as determined by the self-report O-Life questionnaire assessing schizotypy along three dimensions, i.e. positive schizotypy (unusual experiences), cognitive disorganisation, and negative schizotypy (introvertive anhedonia). Forty participants performed the shine-through backward masking task and a classical cognitive test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). We found that visual backward masking was impaired for students scoring high as compared to low on the cognitive disorganisation dimension, whereas the positive and negative schizotypy dimensions showed no link to masking performance. We also found group differences for students scoring high and low on the cognitive disorganisation factor for the WCST. These findings indicate that the shine-through paradigm is sensitive to differences in schizotypy which are closely linked with the pathological expression in schizophrenia.

Follow-up factor structure of schizotypy and its clinical associations in a help-seeking sample meeting ultra-high risk for psychosis criteria at baseline

BackgroundSchizotypy is a multidimensional construct indexing psychometric risk for schizophrenia. This study investigated the factor structure and clinical associations of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) short scales, assessed at follow-up in an originally help-seeking sample identified as ultra-high risk for psychosis. MethodParticipants were 228 help-seeking individuals identified as ultra-high risk for psychosis between 2 and 14 years previously (mean, 7.09; SD, 3.17; median, 6.41). The 43-item O-LIFE short scales (Unusual Experiences, Introvertive Anhedonia, Cognitive Disorganization, Impulsive Nonconformity) and indices of depression, anxiety, positive and negative psychotic symptoms, functioning, and quality of life were administered at follow-up. Structural equation modeling was used. ResultsImpulsive Nonconformity was shown to be an unstable factor and was excluded. A 3-factor model of Unusual Experiences, Cognitive Disorganization, and Introvertive Anhedonia was found to be the best description of the data, compared with a 1-factor model. Unusual Experiences factor was associated with positive psychotic symptoms; Cognitive Disorganization was associated with depression and anxiety; and Introvertive Anhedonia was associated with positive and negative psychotic symptoms, quality of life, and functioning. ConclusionsThe Impulsive Nonconformity factor of the O-LIFE short scales should be interpreted with caution. A well-fitting 3-factor model provides support for a dimensional structure in schizotypy that is similar to that of schizophrenia. Separate dimensions were differentially associated with psychopathology, functioning, and quality of life. The interpersonal dimension of schizotypy was the only dimension associated with poorer functioning and quality of life and may be a sensitive indicator of need for care.

ADVERSE LIFE EVENTS IN HELP-SEEKING AND NON-HELP-SEEKING UHR INDIVIDUALS

The main purpose of this study was to further the understanding of schizotypy by investigating which of two schizotypy models best describes the construct. The quasi-dimensional model views schizotypy as related to psychological ill-health, whereas the fully dimensional model views schizotypy as fundamentally neutral. A schizotypy measure, the Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE; Mason, Claridge, & Jackson, 1995), a health-related measure, the Sense of Coherence (SOC; Antonovsky, 1991) Scale, and a measure of paranormal beliefs and experiences, the Australian Sheep–Goat Scale (ASGS; Thalbourne & Delin, 1993) were used. The study cluster analysed 88 undergraduate psychology students' responses on three of the O-LIFE dimensions: `unusual experiences' (UE), `cognitive disorganisation' (CD), and `introvertive anhedonia' (IA) (Mason et al., 1995). An agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis of the O-LIFE sub-scales suggested three separate clusters. These were labelled CD/IA, UE, and LS. One-way ANOVA:s revealed that the CD/IA cluster scored lower on the SOC scale than the other clusters and that the UE cluster scored higher than the LS cluster on the ASGS. The results of this study support the notion of healthy schizotypy and support the fully dimensional model of schizotypy over the quasi-dimensional model.

Poster #196 INTERPERSONAL APPRAISALS AND SUBJECTIVE STRESS PREDICT PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN DAILY LIFE

This study aimed to investigate which of a fully dimensional and a quasi-dimensional model for schizotypy would be supported in a population of 129 paranormal believers and experients. It also aimed to investigate which, if any, of the previous cluster structures (Goulding, 2004, Loughland and Williams, 1997) would be replicated. An agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and a subsequent k-means cluster analysis of the Unusual Experiences (UE), Cognitive Disorganisation (CD), and Introvertive Anhedonia (IA) sub-scales of the Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE; Mason, Claridge, & Jackson, 1995) were performed. Three separate clusters, labelled Introvertive Anhedonia (IA), Low Schizotypy (LS), and Cognitive Disorganisation (CD), were identified. An analysis of variance showed that the clusters did not differ with regard to paranormal beliefs and experiences, measured by the Australian Sheep–Goat Scale (ASGS; Thalbourne & Delin, 1993); all clusters had high scores. Another analysis of variance showed that the LS cluster scored significantly higher on the health-related Sense of Coherence (SOC; Antonovsky, 1991) Scale than both the other clusters. The results of this study support the Loughland and Williams (1997) O-LIFE four-cluster solution and the notion of healthy schizotypy and therefore also the fully dimensional model of schizotypy.

Schizotypy and emotional memory

Background Emotional dysfunction is a core feature of psychotic disorders. One expression of such dysfunction is a reduction of the emotion-induced enhancement of memory which is normally found in healthy individuals. Less severe disruption of emotional processing may also be present in individuals prone to ‘unusual’ psychosis-like experiences. In this study we investigate voluntary declarative (i.e. explicit or episodic) emotional memory performance, primarily in relation to positive schizotypy (as measured by the unusual experiences scale of the O-LIFE). The effect of negative schizotypy (introvertive anhedonia scale of the O-LIFE) was also explored. We hypothesized that schizotypal individuals (scoring highly on Unusual Experiences) would show reduced memory enhancement. Methods One hundred and two healthy participants viewed a narrated slide-show containing neutral and negative emotional content. They rated the story on a number of affective dimensions and completed a variety of trait measures, including a multi-dimensional measure of schizotypy. Seven days later, a memory test was performed and frequency of involuntary memories related to the slide-show assessed. Results The voluntary declarative emotional memory advantage in recall seen in low scorers (25%ile) on unusual experiences was absent in high scorers (75%ile), despite greater subjective fearfulness and emotionality in that group. However, the high scoring group did report experiencing more involuntary memories related to the story. There was no effect of negative schizotypy on declarative emotional memory. Conclusions The emotional memory difficulties seen in studies of schizophrenia may extend to those with a vulnerability to positive psychosis-like experiences. This vulnerability may be expressed in both voluntary declarative – as well as involuntary – emotional memory performance.

Rapid communication: Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population: Relation to cognitive deficits

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia have been characterized as reflecting a core deficit in the maintenance or use of task-setting cues to mediate appropriate ongoing behaviour. This analysis suggests that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia will be particularly evident when different task-setting cues dictate when different responses are required by the same stimuli. One simple task in which task-setting cues are required is a biconditional discrimination. Here we examined the performance of participants with high and low schizotypy scores (Mason, Claridge, & Jackson, 1995) on a biconditional discrimination and an otherwise equivalent, control discrimination that did not require the use of task-setting cues. Participants scoring highly on the Introvertive Anhedonia subscale (which has been allied to the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia) performed poorly on the biconditional, but not on the control, discrimination. No other subscales demonstrated a significant influence on either biconditional or control performance.

Variations in selective and nonselective prediction error with the negative dimension of schizotypy

Two human associative-learning experiments investigated the relationship between the negative dimension of schizotypy and selective and nonselective prediction-error learning. Experiment 1 demonstrates that individuals low, but not high, on the introvertive anhedonia dimension of schizotypy demonstrate Kamin blocking, which has been taken to reflect the operation of selective learning (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972). In complement, Experiment 2 demonstrates that individuals high, but not low, on the same dimension demonstrate asymmetrical learning about the components of a compound stimulus that differ in their associative history, which has been suggested to reflect the operation of nonselective learning (Rescorla, 2000). The implications of this double dissociation for understanding the nature of the cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and for theories of learning are considered.

Do measures of schizotypal personality provide non-clinical analogues of schizophrenic symptomatology?

This study tested the assumption that measures of schizotypal personality provide non-clinical analogues of the heterogeneous symptomatology found in the schizophrenic disorder. The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) was administered to schizophrenic patients and healthy controls, and measures of symptomatology from the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) were assessed in the patient group. Schizophrenic patients scored significantly higher than controls on O-LIFE measures of positive, negative and disorganised schizotypy, while no difference in Impulsive Nonconformity was observed. In the patient group, SAPS positive symptomatology was significantly correlated with O-LIFE positive schizotypy (Unusual Experiences) and Cognitive Disorganisation. However, there was no significant relationship between SAPS/SANS disorganisation and O-LIFE Cognitive Disorganisation, or between the SANS negative factor score and O-LIFE Introvertive Anhedonia. The results suggest that the O-LIFE is a valid tool for assessing schizotypal personality in both schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. However, while the O-LIFE measure of positive schizotypy may correspond with SAPS/SANS positive schizophrenic symptomatology, the negative and disorganised subscales may not be analogous to their SAPS/SANS counterparts. There is also evidence to question the acceptability of Impulsive Nonconformity as a true schizophrenia-like construct.