Social approach and avoidance behaviour for negative emotions is modulated by endogenous oxytocin and paranoia in schizophrenia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia suffer from dysfunctional social behaviour. Social approach and avoidance (AA) has been associated with motor responses, as the affective valence and gaze direction of facial stimuli can bias push and pull motor tendencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous oxytocin in social AA behaviour in schizophrenia. Basal plasma oxytocin levels were collected from 28 patients who were then given a joystick-based Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Reaction times were recorded and AAT effect scores calculated for responses to happy and angry faces, which either had direct or averted gaze. Individual differences in basal oxytocin had a significant relationship with AAT responses, and patients with higher levels of oxytocin tended to avoid angry faces more. Furthermore, greater avoidance of angry faces was correlated with more severe psychotic (positive and general) symptoms and greater paranoia. This suggests that the endogenous effects of oxytocin may be specific to the interpretation of negative threatening emotions in schizophrenia patients, and also provides evidence that psychotic symptoms and paranoia can impact on social AA behaviour by heightening threat avoidance. © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Description
Keywords
Adult , Anger , Avoidance Learning , Behavior , Emotions , Facial Expression , Female , Happiness , Humans , Learning , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Oxytocics , Oxytocin , Paranoid Disorders , Personality Disorders , Questionnaires , Reaction Time , Recognition (Psychology) , Schizophrenia , Social Behavior , Task Performance and Analysis , Young Adult , oxytocin , oxytocic agent , oxytocin , adult , approach avoidance task , article , avoidance behavior , clinical article , disease severity , emotion , facial expression , female , human , male , oxytocin blood level , paranoia , priority journal , psychosis , response time , schizophrenia , scoring system , social behavior , task performance , anger , avoidance behavior , behavior , blood , drug effects , emotion , happiness , learning , middle aged , neuropsychological test , paranoid psychosis , personality disorder , physiology , questionnaire , reaction time , recognition , schizophrenia , young adult