While the positive symptoms of schizophrenia — delusions and hallucinations — are often the most visible symptoms, abnormalities in social behaviors and cognition appear to have a more significant impact on overall functioning. In addition, current research indicates that impairments in social functioning may precede and predict the development of schizophrenia in those at risk for this disorder. These abnormalities in the processing of social information may represent targets for interventions designed to improve overall functioning in those with schizophrenia; however, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these impairments are poorly understood.
In a previous study, Daphne Hold, MD PhD, Co-director of the Schizophrenia Clinical and Research Program and colleagues focused on one element of social behavior in patients with schizophrenia: social spacing. Personal space refers to the preferred or most comfortable distance that one individual maintains from another nearby person. Like eye contact and facial expressions, personal space is an important component of social communication. In a social context, some individuals with schizophrenia have a tendency to keep themselves at a distance and may be more comfortable with a larger personal space.
In both schizophrenic patients and healthy individuals, the functioning of a parietal–frontal network is involved in monitoring personal space, the area immediately surrounding the body. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Holt and colleagues observed that one region of this network, the dorsal intraparietal sulcus (DIPS), was hyper-responsive in schizophrenic patients when viewing social stimuli (images of human faces) appearing to move toward the subjects and into their personal space. The size of personal space was, on average, larger in patients with schizophrenia, as compared to demographically matched healthy controls. The hyper-responsiveness of the DIPS was predicted both by the size of personal space and the severity of negative symptoms.
These findings suggest that increased sensitivity of the DIPS may contribute to social dysfunction and negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia, where an inability to appropriately integrate sensory inputs required for monitoring the individual’s personal space may lead to detrimental consequences for social behavior during interactions with others. Dr. Holt and her research group are continuing to explore the neural basis of social distance in individuals with psychosis, as well as first degree relatives of individuals with psychosis. This study is now recruiting individuals between the ages of ages of 14 and 50 who have experienced psychosis at any point in their lifetime, as well as first degree relatives of individuals who have experienced psychosis.
Those interested in this study can contact Clayton Jeffrey at [email protected] or (617) 724-3283. More information on this study can be found HERE.
Read More:
Holt DJ, Boeke EA, Coombs G 3rd, DeCross SN, Cassidy BS, Stufflebeam S, Rauch SL, Tootell RB. Abnormalities in personal space and parietal-frontal function in schizophrenia. Neuroimage Clin. 2015 Aug 6;9: 233-43. Free article.
