Is Schizophrenia a Disorder of Consciousness? Experimental and Phenomenological Support for Anomalous Unconscious Processing.
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2017 Anne Giersch, Aaron L Mishara 45 citations
Disturbances in unconscious, automatic processing may contribute to abnormal conscious experiences in schizophrenia. Three lines of research—on spatial frequency processing, unpleasant information, and time-event structure—show impairments at both unconscious and conscious levels. The authors argue that examining unconscious physiological and automatic processing separately from conscious processing is a necessary first step to understanding how conscious distortions emerge. Phenomenological psychiatry supports this view, linking impairments in the minimal self—a tacit, non-verbal sense of bodily presence shaped by unconscious processes—to clinical symptoms. Alterations in these unconscious mechanisms may affect the feeling of being a unique individual, justifying a focus on unconscious processes distinct from conscious ones.