Summary
The perception and recognition of faces, mimic expression and gestures were investigated in normal subjects and schizophrenic patients by means of a movie test described in a previous report (Berndl et al. 1986). The error scores were compared with results from a semi-quantitative evaluation of psychopathological symptoms and with some data from the case histories.
-
(a)
The overall error scores found in the three groups of schizophrenic patients (paranoic, hebephrenic, schizo-affective) were significantly increased (7-fold) over those of normals. No significant difference in the distribution of the error scores in the three different patient groups was found.
-
(b)
In 10 different sub-tests following the movie the deficiencies found in the schizophrenic patients were analysed in detail. The error score for the averbal test was on average higher in paranoic patients than in the two other groups of patients, while the opposite was true for the error scores found in the verbal tests.
-
(c)
Age and sex had some impact on the test results. In normals, female subjects were somewhat better than male. In schizophrenic patients the reverse was true. Thus female patients were more affected by the disease than male patients with respect to the task performance.
-
(d)
The correlation between duration of the disease and error score was small; less than 10% of the error scores could be attributed to factors related to the duration of illness.
-
(e)
Evaluation of psychopathological symptoms indicated that the stronger the schizophrenic defect, the higher the error score, but again this relationship was responsible for not more than 10% of the errors. The estimated degree of acute psychosis and overall sum of psychopathological abnormalities as scored in a semi-quantitative exploration did not correlate with the error score, but with each other. Similarly, treatment with psychopharmaceuticals, previous misuse of drugs or of alcohol had practically no effect on the outcome of the test data.
-
(f)
The analysis of performance and test data of schizophrenic patients indicated that our findings are most likely not due to a “non-specific” impairment of cognitive function in schizophrenia, but point to a fairly selective defect in elementary cognitive visual functions necessary for averbal social communication. Some possible explanations of the data are discussed in relation to neuropsychological and neurophysiological findings on “face-specific” cortical areas located in the primate temporal lobe.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnhoff FN, Damianopoulus EN (1964) Self-body recognition and schizophrenia. J Gen Psychol 70:353–361
Barrera ME, Maurer D (1981) The perception of facial expression by three-month-old. Child Dev 52:203–206
Berndl K, Cranach Mv, Grüsser OJ, Kiefer RH (1983) Impairment of recognition of both gestures and miming in schizophrenic patients. Neurosci Lett (Suppl) 14:27
Berndl K, Dewitz W, Grüsser OJ, Kiefer RH (1986) A test movie to study elementary abilities in perception and recognition of mimic and gestural expression. Eur Arch Psychiat Neurol Sci 235:276–281
Berndl K (1985) Wahmehmen and Erkennen mimisch-gestischer Ausdrucksbewegungen durch schizophrene Patienten. Medizinische Dissertation, Freie Universität Berlin
Bleuler E (1983) Lehrbuch der Psychiatrie. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Braff DL, Saccuzzo DP (1981a) Information processing dysfunction in paranoid schizophrenia: a two-factor deficit. Am J Psychiatry 138:1051–1056
Braff DL, Saccuzzo DP (1981b) Early information processing deficit in schizophrenia. New findings using schizophrenic subgroups and manic control subjects. Arch Gen Psychiatry 38:175–179
Braff DL, Saccuzzo DP (1982) Effect of antipsychotic medication on speed of information processing in schizophrenic patients. Am J Psychiatry 139:1127–1130
Carbonell J, Leventhal D, Schuck J (1978) A test of the schizophrenic's ability to process information in one or two sensory modes. Br J Soc Clin Psychol 17:243–249
Cleveland SE, Fisher S, Reitman E, Rothaus R (1962) Perception of body size in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 7:277–285
Collins PJ (1974) Reaction time measures of visual temporal integration on schizophrenic patients, other psychiatric patients and normal subjects. Diss Abstr Intern 35:1074
Damasio AR, Damasio H, Hoesen GW van (1982) Prosopagnosia; anatomical basis and neurobehavioral mechanisms. Neurology 32:331–341
Darwin C (1872) The expression of the emotions in man and animals. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1965
Desimone R, Albright TD, Gross C, Bruce C (1984) Stimulus-selective properties of inferior temporal neurons in the macaque. J Neurosci 4:2051–2062
Eibl-Eibesfeldt I (1967) Grundriß der vergleichenden Verhaltensforschung. Piper, München
Ekman P (1973) Cross-cultural studies of facial expression. In: Ekman P (ed) Darwin and facial expression. Academic Press, New York, London, pp 169–222
Fagan MJ (1958) Perception of self and of normality in schizophrenics. Diss Abstr Intern 19:170
Feer H (1985) Biologische Psychiatrie. In: Glatzel J, Krüger H, Scharfetter C (Hrsg) Forum der Psychiatrie 22, Enke, Stuttgart
Feldman JJ (1966) Attitudinal relationships of paranoid schizophrenic and non-psychotic patients toward recognizing needs in themselves and in others. Diss Abstr Intern 26:4805
Fisher S (1964) Body-image and psychopathology. Arch Gen Psychiatry 10:519–529
Fisher S, Seidner R (1963) Body experiences of schizophrenic, neurotic and normal women. J Nerv Ment Dis 137:252–257
Flor-Henry P, Fromm-Auch D, Schopflocher D (1983) Neuropsychological dimensions in psychopathology. In: Flor-Henry P, Gruzelier J (eds) Laterality and psychopathology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 59–82
Grüsser OJ (1984) Face recognition within the reach of neurobiology and beyond it. Hum Neurobiol 3:183–190
Hécaen H (1981) The neuropsychology of face-recognition. In: Davies G, Ellis H, Shepherd J (eds) Perceiving and remembering faces. Academic Press, London, pp 39–54
Hozier A (1959) On the breakdown of the sense of reality: a study of spatial perception in schizophrenia. J Consult Psychol 23:185–194
Jeeves MA (1984) The historical roots and recurring issues of neurobiological studies of face perception. Hum Neurobiol 3:191–196
Jost K (1977) Untersuchungen an Schizophrenen mit Hilfe des Visual-Retention-Tests von Benton (BT). Diagnostica 23:173–178
Kayton L, Koh SD, Streicher SK (1976) Short term memory for numerousness in schizophrenic young adults. J Nerv Ment Dis 163:88–101
Knight RA, Sims-Knight JE (1980) Integration of visual patterns in schizophrenics. J Abnorm Psychol 89:623–634
Kornhuber HH (1983) Chemistry, physiology and neuropsychology of schizophrenia: Towards an earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia Arch Psychiatr Nervenkr 233:415–422
Leavitt LA, Morse PA, Nelson CA (1979) Recognition of facial expressions by seven-month-old infants. Child Dev 50:1239–1242
Meadows JC (1974) The anatomical basis of prosopagnosia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 37:489–501
Niwa S, Hiramatsu K, Kameyama T, Saitoh O, Itoh K (1983) Dichotic detection task and schizophrenic attentional deficit. In: FlorHenry P, Gruzelier J (eds) Laterality and psychopathology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 507–523
Norbeck JS (1981) Young children's ability to conserve facial identity when facial emotion varies. Nurs Res 30:329–333
Perret DI, Rolls ET, Caan W (1982) Visual neurones responsive to faces in the monkey temporal cortex. Exp Brain Res 47:329–342
Perret DI, Smith PAJ, Potter DD, Mistlin AJ, Head AS, Milner AD, Jeeves MA (1984) Neurones responsive to faces in the temporal cortex: studies of functional organization, sensitivity to identity and relation to perception. Hum Neurobiol 3:197–208
Rolls ET (1984) Neurons in the cortex of the temporal lobe and in the amygdala of the monkey with responses selective for faces. Hum Neurobiol 3:209–222
Rose RD (1973) Short term visual storage function in paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics. Diss Abstr Intern 34:424
Salzen E (1981) Perception of emotion in faces. In: Davies G, Ellis H, Shepherd J (eds) Perceiving and remembering faces. Academic Press, London, pp 133–170
Shostakovich GS (1974) Temporary parameters of visual perception and motor reaction in schizophrenic patients. J Neuropathol Psychiatr 74:1851–1855
Silverstein ML, Meltzer HY (1983) Neuropsychological dysfunction in the major psychoses: Relation to premorbid adjustment and social class. In: Flor-Henry P, Gruzelier J (eds) Laterality and psychopathology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 143–152
Sommer R, Weckowicz TC (1960) Body image and self-concept in schizophrenia. J Ment Sci 106:17–39
Sorgatz H (1979) Biometrie in der Psychopathologie, Fortschritte der klinischen Psychologie. Urban and Schwarzenberg, München
Taylor MA, Abrams R (1983) Cerebral hemisphere dysfunction in the major psychoses. In: Flor-Henry P, Gruzelier J (eds) Laterality and psychopathology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 153–162
Taylor MA, Abrams R (1984) Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 141:196–201
Trevarthen C (1985) Facial expressions of emotion in mother-infant interaction. Hum Neurobiol 4:21–32
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Professor D. Ploog, Max Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie, München, on occasion of his 65th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berndl, K., von Cranach, M. & Grüsser, O.J. Impairment of perception and recognition of faces, mimic expression and gestures in schizophrenic patients. Eur Arch Psychiatr Neurol Sci 235, 282–291 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00515915
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00515915