title: Memory for symmetry and perceptual binding in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: The present study investigated the use of perceptual binding processes in schizophrenic (SC) patients and matched healthy controls, by examining their performance on the recall of symmetrical (vertical, horizontal and diagonal) and asymmetrical patterns varying in length between 2 and 9 items. The results showed that, although SC patients were less accurate than controls in all conditions, both groups recalled symmetrical patterns better than asymmetrical ones. The impairment of SC patients was magnified with supra-span symmetrical arrays, and they were more likely to reproduce symmetrical patterns as asymmetrical, particularly at medium and high length levels. Hierarchical regression analyses further indicated that the between-group differences in the recall of supra-span vertical and horizontal arrays, which require a greater involvement of visual pattern processes, remained significant after removing the variance associated with performance on asymmetrical patterns, which primarily reflects intrafigural spatial processes. It is proposed that schizophrenia may be associated with a specific deficit in the formation and retrieval of the global visual images of studied patterns and in the use of the on-line information about the type of symmetry being tested to guide retrieval processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via deiMarsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy; Cell Biology and Neurobiology Institute, C.N.R. National Research Council of Italy, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64/65, 00143 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: vincenzo.cestari@ipsifar.rm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cestari
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saraulli
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spataro
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lega
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sciarretta
authors.forename: Valéria Rezende
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Clelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossi-Arnaud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010466:Perceptual Closure; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
keywords: 2343; Binding; Learning & Memory; Memory; Schizophrenia; Symmetry