Towards integrating phenomenology and neurocognition: Possible neurocognitive correlates of basic self-disturbance in schizophrenia

Abstract

Phenomenological research indicates that disturbance of the basic sense of self may be a core phenotypic marker of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Basic self-disturbance refers to disruption of the sense of ownership of experience and agency of action and is associated with a variety of anomalous subjective experiences. Little is known about the neurocognitive correlates of basic selfdisturbance. In this paper, we review recent phenomenological and neurocognitive research and point to a convergence of these approaches around the concept of self-disturbance. Specifically, we propose that subjective anomalies associated with basic selfdisturbance may be associated with: 1. source monitoring deficits, which may contribute particularly to disturbances of "ownership" and "mineness" (the phenomenological notion of presence) and 2. aberrant salience, and associated disturbances of memory, prediction, and attention processes, which may contribute to hyper-reflexivity, disturbed "grip" or "hold" on the perceptual and conceptual field, and disturbances of intuitive social understanding ("common sense"). These two streams of research are reviewed in turn before considering ways forward in integrative models, particularly regarding the role of early neurodevelopmental disturbances, primary versus secondary disturbances, and the state versus trait nature of such pathology. Empirical studies are required in a variety of populations in order to test the proposed associations between phenomenological and neurocognitive aspects of self-disturbance in schizophrenia. An integration of findings across the phenomenological and neurocognitive domains would represent a significant advance in the understanding of schizophrenia and possibly enhance early identification and intervention strategies.

Prevalence, dimensionality and clinical relevance of self‐disturbances and psychotic‐like experiences in Polish young adults: a latent class analysis approach.

“…The data showed the presence of five distinct subgroups within the SD con- (Gaweda et al, 2018c;Moritz et al, 2017). It is postulated in Nelson and Sass (2017) recent theoretical model that cognitive biases such as sourcemonitoring deficits could be neurocognitive correlates of SD. Preliminary data confirming their relationship in a group of ultra-high risk of psychosis as well as among first-episode schizophrenia patients has recently been published (Nelson et al, 2019).…”

“…Cognitive biases are another well recognised cognitive factor related to the risk of psychosis both in clinical (Waters, Woodward, Allen, Aleman, & Sommer, ; Woodward, Moritz, Cuttler, & Whitman, ) and non‐clinical groups (Gaweda et al, 2018c; Moritz et al, ). It is postulated in Nelson and Sass () recent theoretical model that cognitive biases such as source‐monitoring deficits could be neurocognitive correlates of SD. Preliminary data confirming their relationship in a group of ultra‐high risk of psychosis as well as among first‐episode schizophrenia patients has recently been published (Nelson et al, ).…”

Movement responses in the Rorschach test. Part 1 Testing healthy and schizophrenic individuals

“…The small number of subjects in the subgroups was due to the fact that all of them were children of parents who agreed to take the Rorschach test. Some data concerning the results obtained when testing the parents have already been published [28,29,30]. I also plan to perform an analysis of the results obtained by the group of parents analogous to the analysis of results obtained by their children, which I present in this paper.…”

“…Mała liczba osób w poszczególnych podgrupach była związana z tym, że wszyscy badani byli dziećmi rodziców, którzy zgodzili się poddać badaniu testem Rorschacha, co nie było łatwe do spełnienia. Niektóre dane dotyczące wyników uzyskanych z badania rodziców były już publikowane [28][29][30]. Planuję też dokonać analizy wyników grupy rodziców analogicznej do analizy wyników uzyskanych przez ich dzieci, które prezentuję w niniejszym artykule.…”

Editorial: Embodying the Self: Neurophysiological Perspectives on the Psychopathology of Anomalous Bodily Experiences

“…An active topic affecting the understanding of several psychopathological disorders is the relatively unknown dynamic existing between aspects related to the body-object (that comprises the neurobiological substrate of the disease) and the body-subject (the experiences reported by patients) (Nelson and Sass, 2017 ). A clue testifying the need to better explore this dynamic in the psychopathological context is the marked gap that still exists between patients' clinical reports (generally entailing disturbing experiences) and etiopathogenetic theories and therapeutic practices, that are mainly postulated at a bodily/brain level of description and analysis.…”