Olfactory Hedonic Judgment in Patients With Deficit Syndrome Schizophrenia

Abstract

Olfactory perception was examined in deficit syndrome (DS) and nondeficit syndrome (ND) schizophrenia patients. Participants included 22 controls (CN) and 41 patients with schizophrenia who were divided into DS (n = 15) and ND (n = 26) subtypes using the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS). Olfactory perception for pleasant and unpleasant odors was assessed using the Brief Smell Identification Test. Participants were instructed to identifying each smell as well as provide hedonic judgment ratings of each smell on a 7-point scale (1 = extremely pleasant, 4 = neutral, and 7 = extremely unpleasant). Results indicated that when compared with the ND patients, the DS patients rated pleasant smells as being significantly less pleasant, although no difference between the groups was present for unpleasant smells, and both ND and DS groups significantly differed from CN on rating and identifying pleasant and unpleasant items. Additionally, lower smell identification accuracy was negatively correlated with SDS symptom severity, and valence ratings for pleasant odors were positively correlated with SDS diminished emotional range. Findings suggest that the DS is characterized by a unique pattern of olfactory valence judgment that is characterized by abnormalities in processing positively valenced stimuli.

Olfactory identification deficits at identification as ultra-high risk for psychosis are associated with poor functional outcome

“…Kayser et al, 2013;Turetsky et al, 2008), allow sensory information to reach orbitofrontal regions (Brewer et al, 2006). This hypothesis is supported by the findings that OI deficits are associated with negative symptoms (Brewer et al, 1996a(Brewer et al, , 2001Corcoran et al, 2005;Good et al, 2006;Ishizuka et al, 2010) and more specifically, the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia (Strauss et al, 2010).…”

“…In that study, OI deficits appear to be most strongly related to overall social and occupational functioning, and specifically to maintaining employment and meeting basic needs. Furthermore, Strauss et al (2010) reported reduced olfactory hedonic judgement in the deficit syndrome diagnostic subtype, along with a negative relationship between negative symptom severity and OI ability. However, in the current study, no relationship between OI and negative symptoms was found in any group.…”

Multisensory integration of emotionally valenced olfactory–visual information in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls

“…Both the SCID and PANSS were administered by experienced and clinically trained psychologists. Of the patients, 22 were taking atypical neuroleptics, 1 was taking both typical and atypical medication and 1 was unmedicated. Eight patients were receiving serotonin reuptake inhibitors in addition to neuroleptic treatment.…”

“…21 This is despite the fact that an increasing body of research reports that patients show declarative deficits in olfactory functioning, affecting identification and hedonic judgment. [22][23][24] The aim of our study was to investigate whether crossmodal effects between olfactory and visual stimuli are impaired in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. We expected that, in line with previous studies, 10 the odorants would influence the perception of emotional faces in the healthy participant group.…”

The evaluation of insufficient cognitive effort in schizophrenia in light of low IQ scores

“…Tests were administered as part of a larger battery that included other neuropsychological measures, computerized tests, and clinical interviews (Duke et al, 2010;Strauss and Allen, 2013;Strauss et al, 2008Strauss et al, , 2010aStrauss et al, , 2011Strauss et al, , 2010bStrauss et al, , 2012Vogel et al, 2013). Diagnostic and symptom interviews occurred prior to neuropsychological testing.…”