Altered self-recognition in patients with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia research April 1, 2020 Karl Erik Sandsten, Julie Nordgaard, Troels Wesenberg Kjaer et al. 45 citations
Patients with schizophrenia often report not recognizing themselves in the mirror, a form of self-alienation. Using the Enfacement Illusion, a multisensory paradigm that manipulates self-other facial recognition through visuo-tactile stimulation, this study compared 35 patients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy matched controls. At baseline, patients showed a significant skew toward perceiving another person's face as their own. After both synchronous and asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation, patients' self-recognition was significantly altered compared to baseline. In contrast, healthy controls only showed altered self-recognition after synchronous stimulation, consistent with prior research. The findings suggest that temporal factors in multisensory integration may contribute to altered self-recognition in schizophrenia.