RESUMO
Introducción: Existen estudios que han demostrado que las alteraciones en el reconocimiento emocional son heredables y constituyen marcadores endofenotípicos para la esquizofrenia, sin embargo estos estudios se han realizado con caras estáticas. Con empleo de caras dinámicas se ha reportado mayor activación de los circuitos neurales involucrados en el reconocimiento emocional, por tanto podría ser también un endofenotipo para la enfermedad. Objetivo: Evaluar el criterio de heredabilidad para el reconocimiento emocional en una muestra de pacientes cubanos. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal. La muestra estuvo constituida por 96 pacientes con diagnóstico de esquizofrenia según los criterios del DSM-IV. Se evaluaron además 192 familiares de primer grado de los pacientes y 107 sujetos sanos como controles. Para la evaluación clínica se aplicaron escalas clinimétricas y el test de reconocimiento emocional a partir de expresiones faciales dinámicas. Resultados: A pesar de las evidencias de asociación familiar previamente reportadas, los valores de heredabilidad para las 6 emociones exploradas fueron bajas. Conclusiones: La baja heredabilidad indica mayor efecto de los factores ambientales que los genéticos para el reconocimiento emocional con caras dinámicas. Por tanto, no hay evidencias suficientes de que sea un endofenotipo para la enfermedad(AU)
Introduction: Several studies have documented that the alterations in emotional recognition is heritable and constitute endophenotype markers for schizophrenia, however, these studies have been develop with static faces. It has been reported that using dynamic faces there is higher activation of neural circuits involved in emotional recognition and then could be an endophenotype for the illness. Objective: To evaluate heritability criteria for emotional recognition in a sample of Cuban patients. Methods: A transversal study was carried out. The sample was composed by 96 patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV criterias. For the study, were evaluated 192 first-degree relatives of the patients and 107 healthy subjects as controls. To consider clinical evaluation, clinimetric scales and the emotional recognition test with dynamic facial expressionswere applied. Results: In spite ofevidence of family association previous reported, rates of heritability for the 6 emotion explored were low. Conclusions: Low heritability suggest higher effect of environmental factors than genetic factor for emotional recognition with dynamic faces. However, there is no enough evidence for it to be an endophenotype for schizophrenia(AU)
Assuntos
Esquizofrenia/etiologia , Inteligência Emocional , Esquizofrenia/genética , Estudos TransversaisRESUMO
It is well established that schizophrenia is associated with difficulties in recognizing facial emotional expressions, but few studies have reported the presence of this deficit among their unaffected relatives. This study attempts to add new evidence of familial association on an emotional expression processing test. The study evaluated the performance of 93 paranoid schizophrenia patients, 110 first-degree relatives of probands from multiplex schizophrenia families, and 109 nonpsychiatric controls on a facial emotional recognition test using a computer morphing technique to present the dynamic expressions. The task entailed the recognition of a set of facial expressions depicting the six basic emotions presented in 21 successive frames of increasing intensity. The findings indicated that schizophrenia patients were consistently impaired for the recognition of the six basic facial expressions. In contrast, their unaffected relatives showed a selective impairment for the recognition of disgust and fearful expressions. Familial association of selective facial emotional expressions processing deficit may further implicate promising new endophenotypes that can advance the understanding of affective deficits in schizophrenia.
Assuntos
Emoções Manifestas/fisiologia , Saúde da Família , Transtornos da Memória/etiologia , Reconhecimento Psicológico/fisiologia , Esquizofrenia Paranoide/complicações , Adulto , Análise de Variância , Distribuição de Qui-Quadrado , Cuba , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Psicologia do Esquizofrênico , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Endophenotypes is one emerging strategy in schizophrenia research that is being used to identify the functional importance of genetically transmitted, brain-based deficits present in this disease. Currently, event-related potentials (ERPs) are timely used in this search. Several ERPs, including N400, present deficits in relation to schizophrenia. In order to assess the genetic liability of N400 as a possible endophenotype, a picture semantic matching task (congruent and incongruent pairs of pictures) was performed by 21 unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia, 21 DSM-IV diagnosed schizophrenia probands, and 21 control subjects, matched by age, gender and educational level. Probands and relatives were selected form Multiplex schizophrenia families. Significantly reduced N400 amplitude for congruent categories in N400 was found in probands and relatives in relation to controls. The latency onset and the maximum peak latency of N400 were delayed in both, relatives and probands groups compared to control. The voltage maps of incongruous-minus-congruous difference indicate a more reduced right restricted negativity in probands and relatives, when compared to a widely extended bilateral negativity in controls. No general differences were found between patients and relatives. These results demonstrate an electrophysiological deficit in semantic match processing in clinically unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia, suggesting a possible use of this marker as endophenotype.