Empathy in schizophrenia: impaired resonance

Abstract

Resonance is the phenomenon of one person unconsciously mirroring the motor actions as basis of emotional expressions of another person. This shared representation serves as a basis for sharing physiological and emotional states of others and is an important component of empathy. Contagious laughing and contagious yawning are examples of resonance. In the interpersonal contact with individuals with schizophrenia we can often experience impaired empathic resonance. The aim of this study is to determine differences in empathic resonance-in terms of contagion by yawning and laughing-in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls in the context of psychopathology and social functioning. We presented video sequences of yawning, laughing or neutral faces to 43 schizophrenia outpatients and 45 sex-and age-matched healthy controls. Participants were video-taped during the stimulation and rated regarding contagion by yawning and laughing. In addition, we assessed self-rated empathic abilities (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), psychopathology (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in the schizophrenia group resp. Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire in the control group), social dysfunction (Social Dysfunction Index) and executive functions (Stroop, Fluency). Individuals with schizophrenia showed lower contagion rates for yawning and laughing. Self-rated empathic concern showed no group difference and did not correlate with contagion. Low rate of contagion by laughing correlated with the schizophrenia negative syndrome and with social dysfunction. We conclude that impaired resonance is a handicap for individuals with schizophrenia in social life. Blunted observable resonance does not necessarily reflect reduced subjective empathic concern.

Affective empathy in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis

“…For example, Fett and colleagues (2011) found a significant, moderate association between cognitive empathy and community functioning. However, studies examining overall or affective empathy with functioning in this population are disparate and have not been synthesized, with some literature indicating an association between overall or affective empathy and aspects of social functioning (Michaels et al, 2014;Shamay-Tsoory et al, 2007;Smith et al, 2014;Smith et al, 2012) while other studies indicate no relationship (Corbera et al, 2013;Haker and Rössler, 2009;Sparks et al, 2010).…”

Sense of agency and mentalizing: Dissociation of subdomains of social cognition in patients with schizophrenia

“…An experiment which investigates both aspects of social cognition in a more naturalistic setup involving interaction with another agent might be needed to gain more insight into the relationship between the sense of agency and mentalizing (Davis, 1996). Support for this idea can be found in studies of self-rated mentalizing abilities in schizophrenia (Montag et al, 2007, Derntl, et al, 2009, Haker and Rössler, 2009), where patients with schizophrenia indicate low levels of mentalizing but high levels of personal distress compared to healthy controls, which indicates a relationship between self-other distinction and mentalizing. However, our agency task was based on previously used paradigms (e.g.…”

“…This idea is supported by evidence from clinical populations in which both processes are subject to impairments, such as in schizophrenia. Moreover, in self-rating questionnaires, schizophrenia patients indicate lower levels of perspective taking compared to controls, but higher levels of personal distress when confronted with emotions of other people (Shamay-Tsoory et al, 2007, Fujiwara et al, 2008, Derntl et al, 2009, Haker and Rössler, 2009). This could be explained by impairments in the self-other distinction, and hence a disturbed sense of agency, which could hinder the appropriate understanding of another individual's perspective.…”

“…This idea is supported by evidence from clinical populations in which both processes are subject to impairments, such as in schizophrenia. Moreover, in self-rating questionnaires, schizophrenia patients indicate lower levels of perspective taking compared to controls, but higher levels of personal distress when confronted with emotions of other people (Shamay-Tsoory et al, 2007, Fujiwara et al, 2008, Derntl et al, 2009, Haker and Rössler, 2009 Although the self-other distinction seems fundamental to mentalizing, there is evidence suggesting that they represent two independent processes. Van Hooren et al (2008) investigated the association between a range of social-cognitive processes, finding a lack of overlap between a sense of agency and mentalizing, and more broadly, between all the social-cognitive processes investigated.…”

La falta de empatía: ¿Un síntoma específico de la esquizofrenia? [Lack of empathy: a specific symptom of schizophrenia?]

“…Los hallazgos encontrados en los estudios realizados en pacientes diagnosticados de esquizofrenia con el IRI, sobre el défi cit en la empatía de estos pacientes frente a la población normal, son muy similares a los del presente estudio (Shamay-Tsoory et al 2007a;Montag et al, 2007;Derntl et al, 2009;Fuyiwara et al, 2008;Haker y Rössler, 2009;).…”