In schizophrenia, there is evidence for anomalies in the extension and plasticity of the peripersonal space (PPS), the portion of space surrounding our body, plastically shaped through motor experiences. An impaired multisensory integration at the PPS level would underpin the disembodiment, a core feature of the disorder linked to subjective perturbations of the sense of self (“Self-disorders”) and of the intersubjective dimension (“schizophrenic autism”).

The present study was aimed at: 1) exploring possible associations between PPS data, psychopathological dimensions, and subjective experiences in schizophrenia; 2) identifying a specific PPS profile in patients with early-onset schizophrenia.

A motor training with a tool was used to assess the PPS size and boundaries demarcation in twenty-seven schizophrenia outpatients. Moreover, they underwent a thorough psychopathological evaluation with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience scale (EASE) and the Autism Rating Scale (ARS). Subsequently, the sample was divided into early (EOS) and adult-onset (AOS) subgroups, that were compared with respect to their PPS and psychopathological profiles.

PPS features (size and boundaries demarcation) were associated with PANSS negative score, subjective experiences of existential reorientation (EASE Domain 5 scores) and traits of schizophrenic autism (ARS scores; Fig. 1). PPS parameters (Fig. 2) and ARS scores, but not PANSS and EASE differentiated between early and adult-onset subgroups.

Image:

Image 2:

Our results suggest a link between PPS patterns, negative symptoms, and disturbances of the subjective experience, particularly in the intersubjective domain, in schizophrenia. Moreover, they candidate specific PPS profiles and schizophrenic autism traits as EOS markers.

None Declared

Patients with schizophrenia present severe communication difficulties in various linguistic areas. In the last two decades research has invested significant effort in trying to better characterize the linguistic profile of patients with schizophrenia, with the purpose to help and guide diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, speech data could be easily gathered through non-invasive techniques and are therefore seen as particularly promising by clinicians. However, surprisingly very little is known about interactional dialogue management, i.e. turn-taking, in these patients. ‘Schizophrenic autism’, the peculiar intersubjective experience also linked to anomalies in the sense of the self (‘Self-disorders’) presented by these patients, could be at the basis of an unusual turn-taking management.

The objective of the present study was to investigate turn-taking patterns of patients with schizophrenia and to explore their possible associations with psychopathological dimensions and subjective experiences.

We obtained double-channel audio-recordings from interviews with twenty patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and twenty healthy controls (HC). Participants answered general questions to elicit spontaneous dialogues, to improve the ecological validity of the task. The audio files obtained were then analyzed with Praat, a software widely used in experimental phonetics. We subsequently quantified a set of conversational metrics (participant floor occupation, mutual silence, overlap between speakers, speaking turn and pause duration). Patients also underwent a thorough psychopathological and phenomenological evaluation with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience scale (EASE) and the Autism Rating Scale (ARS).

Our results show that the SCZ group displayed a reduced participant floor occupation, an increased mutual silence, and shorter speaking turns as compared to the HC. (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). We found significant associations between conversational features and psychopathology (Fig. 3). Two multivariate linear regressions showed that the participant occupation floor and the average speaking turn duration (dependent variables) were negatively related to the severity of negative symptoms and Self-Disorders. Interestingly, Self-Disorders were the best predictors of conversational engagement.

Image:

Image 2:

Image 3:

Our results, although preliminary, suggest the existence of peculiar turn-taking patterns in schizophrenia, linked to negative symptoms and disturbances of the subjective experience, particularly in the Self domain. Our results suggest also how the use of experimental linguistic methodology is applicable to clinical settings and underscores the importance of research projects in this field that are strongly interdisciplinary in both design and conduct.

None Declared

Language and conversation are deeply interrelated: language is acquired, structured, practiced in social interactions and linguistic resources (specifically syntactic, prosodic and pragmatic aspects) contribute to finely tuning turn-taking. Nevertheless, most studies focused on verbal aspects of speech in schizophrenia, with scant attention to their relation to conversation, where language is experienced at most.

The present study was aimed at investigating a possible association between language impairment and conversational characteristics in a sample of clinically stable patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 35, ages 18-65).

A spontaneous speech sample was recorded. For the assessment of language skills, the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC) and the Clinical Language Disorder Rating Scale (CLANG) were used, while conversational variables were extracted with an innovative method of semi-automatic analysis. The possible associations were investigated through the Pearson Correlation.

Figure 1 represents graphically the correlational matrix between conversational variables and linguistic scale scores. In the heatmap, blue means negative and red positive correlations, the stronger the colour, the larger the correlation magnitude. Moreover, the significant associations are indicated with stars.

The results suggest that in schizophrenia spectrum disorders the disturbances of language, at a syntactic, prosodic and pragmatic level, have significant impact on communicative interaction.

Thus, conversation analysis might be a promising method to quantify objectively communicative impairment with the benefit of representing an ecological assessment, examining the performance of patients in the real situation of language use, which is social interaction.

No significant relationships.

A primary disruption of the bodily self is considered a core feature of schizophrenia patients (SCZ). The “disembodied” self would be underpinned by an inefficient body-related multisensory integration mechanism occurring in the Peripersonal Space (PPS). PPS is a plastic sector of space surrounding our body, whose extent is altered in SCZ. Although PPS represents a malleable interface marking the perceptual border between self and others, no study has investigated the potential alteration of its plasticity in SCZ.

We investigated the PPS extension and its plasticity in SCZ and their potential correlations with the clinical scales.

Thirty SCZ and thirty healthy controls (HC) underwent a multisensory task to estimate PPS boundary before and after a motor training. Patients were also administered the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE).

Data confirm a narrower PPS extent in SCZ than in HC, whereas no differences in PPS expansion was found in the two groups after the motor training (Figure 1). Positive symptoms were associated directly with PPS extent and inversely with PPS plasticity. No associations were found between PPS and EASE domains. Figure1: Graphical representation of PPS expansion in SCZ and HC. Both panels show individual normalized sigmoid fits

The present study suggests a narrower PPS extent and a preserved PPS plasticity in SCZ with respect to HC. Both PPS extent and plasticity are related to the severity of positive symptoms. These results highlight the potential role of rehabilitation interventions in order to improve patients’ weakened body boundary.

No significant relationships.