Anomalous bodily experiences and perceived social isolation in schizophrenia: An extension of the Social Deafferentation Hypothesis

作者：Michael Jamie; Park Sohee^*

来源：Schizophrenia Research, 2016, 176(2-3): 392-397.

DOI：10.1016/j.schres.2016.06.013

• Body aberration
• Self-disturbances
• Proprioception
• Exteroception
• Pinocchio Illusion
• Social isolation

Background: Disturbances of the bodily self are fundamental to the phenomenological experience of individuals with schizophrenia, a population at risk for social isolation. Both proprioception and exteroception contribute to a sense of consistent body boundary that contains the self across time and space, and this process is influenced by self-other (social) interactions. However, the relationship between social isolation, exteroception, and in-the-moment changes in body representation has not been elucidated. We investigated susceptibility to anomalous bodily experiences with a phantom nose induction procedure that elicits a sensation that one's nose is changing (Pinocchio Illusion: PI) in relation to exteroceptive awareness and social isolation.
Methods: 25 individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and 15 matched controls (CO) participated in a PI induction procedure to quantify susceptibility to bodily aberrations and a tactile discrimination task to assess exteroception. Clinical symptoms in SZ and schizotypy in CO were assessed, in addition to a self-report measure of perceived social isolation.
Results: Compared to CO, SZ showed increased PI and impaired tactile discriminability. SZ reported greater loneliness than CO. PI scores were correlated with increased loneliness and decreased tactile discriminability.
Conclusions: Greater susceptibility to anomalous bodily experiences, together with reduced exteroceptive awareness and increased loneliness, is compatible with the framework of Hoffman's Social Deafferentation Hypothesis, which posits that a functional "amputation" from one's social environment could lead to a reorganization of the social brain network, resulting in hallucinations and delusions. These findings underscore the importance of the relationship between social isolation and self-disturbances in schizophrenia.

• 出版日期2016-10