Cognition-emotion interactions are modulated by working memory capacity in individuals with schizophrenia

Abstract

Prior research provides evidence for aberrant cognition-emotion interactions in schizophrenia. In the current study, we aimed to extend these findings by administering the “distractor devaluation” task to 40 individuals with schizophrenia and 32 demographically matched healthy controls. The task consisted of a simple visual search task for neutral faces, followed by an evaluative response made for one of the search items (or a novel item) to determine whether prior attentional selection results in a devaluation of a previously unattended stimulus. We also manipulated working memory demands by preceding the search array with a memory array that required subjects to hold 0, 1, or 2 items in working memory while performing the search array and devaluation task, to determine whether the normative process by which attentional states influence evaluative response is limited by working memory capacity. Results indicated that individuals with schizophrenia demonstrated the typical distractor devaluation effect at working memory load 0, suggesting intact evaluative response. However, the devaluation effect was absent at working memory loads of 1 and 2, suggesting that normal evaluative responses can be abolished in people with schizophrenia when working memory capacity is exceeded. Thus, findings provide further evidence for normal evaluative response in schizophrenia, but clarify that these normal experiences may not hold when working memory demands are too high.

How stress influences creativity in game-based situations: Analysis of stress hormones, negative emotions, and working memory

“…This result is not consistent with a previous finding that cognitioneemotion interactions are modulated by WM capacity (Strauss et al, 2012). However, it is also possible that emotion may influence WM indirectly via some brain functions.…”

Deciphering reward-based decision-making in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis and behavioral modeling of the Iowa Gambling Task

“…Patients with schizophrenia (SZP) exhibit deficits across a wide range of measures of executive control/working memory (WM;Collins et al, 2014) and rewardprocessing/reinforcement learning (RL;Gold et al, 2008;Juckel et al, 2006;Strauss et al, 2012;Waltz et al, 2007). A particularly debilitating aspect of the illness potentially associated with these impairments is maladaptive decision-making, contributing significantly to several functional deficits, such as poor treatment adherence, financial difficulties and interpersonal conflicts (Fond et al, 2013).…”

Forming first impressions of others in schizophrenia: Impairments in fast processing and in use of spatial frequency information

“…In previous studies of trait ratings of faces, patients gave similar ratings as controls for danger (Henry et al, 2010), friendliness (Taylor et al, 2011), and likeability (Kline et al, 1992) and gave similar (McIntosh and Park, 2014) or higher (Haut and MacDonald, 2010) ratings for attractiveness than controls. Trustworthiness ratings were more variable, though generally showed similar or more positive ratings for patients than controls (McIntosh and Park, 2014; Strauss et al, 2012; Haut and MacDonald 2010; Baas et al, 2008a,b; Couture et al, 2008; Pinkham et al, 2008: Hooker et al, 2011). Relationships between trait ratings and symptoms also vary between studies (e.g., Couture et al, 2008; Pinkham et al, 2008; Hooker et al, 2011; McIntosh and Park, 2014).…”