Configural processing in face recognition in schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND
There is currently substantial literature to suggest that patients with schizophrenia are impaired on many face-processing tasks. This study investigated the specific effects of configural changes on face recognition in groups of schizophrenia patients.


METHODS
In Experiment 1, participants identified facial expressions in upright faces and in faces inverted from their upright orientation. Experiments 2 and 3 examined recognition memory for faces and other non-face objects presented in upright and inverted orientations. Experiment 4 explored recognition of facial identity in composite images where the top half of one face was fused to the bottom half of another face to form a new face configuration.


RESULTS
In each experiment, the configural change had the same effect on face recognition for the schizophenia patients as it did for control participants. Recognising inverted faces was more difficult than recognising upright faces, with a disproportionate effect of inversion on faces relative to other objects. Recognition of facial identity in face-halves was interfered with by the formation of a new face configuration.


CONCLUSIONS
Collectively, these results suggest that people with schizophrenia rely on configural information to recognise photographs of faces.
Schwartz
Barbara L
BL
Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC 20422, USA. schwarbl@gusun.georgetown.edu
Marvel
Cherie L
CL
Drapalski
Amy
A
Rosse
Richard B
RB
Deutsch
Stephen I
SI