title: Evaluation of trait adjectives and ego pathology in schizophrenia: an N400 study.
abstract: The N400, an event-related brain potential (ERP), can be triggered by semantic or arithmetic violations in visual or auditory stimulus material. Schizophrenia patients exhibit an altered N400 presumably resulting from impaired semantic memory associative networks. The present study investigates, whether an altered N400 can also be found in semantic violations of the own self-concept. We use simple descriptive sentences to combine semantics with the self-concept in order to explore differences and possible deficits in schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia patients and controls were shown trait adjectives in reference to themselves. Participants had to decide if the presented trait adjective was congruent or incongruent with their own self-concept. Only in controls, the N400 was significantly more negative in the incongruent compared to the congruent condition. Controls seemed to profit from a stable self-concept as they were faster in judging if a given trait was descriptive for the self than for someone else, which might result from processes related to the self-reference effect. Interestingly, in schizophrenia patients, the higher the scores for ego pathology were, the smaller the N400 effect turned out to be. The diminished N400 effect is probably associated with a disturbed self-concept in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metzler
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Theodoridou
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleksandrowicz
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Caitriona
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Obermann
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kawohl
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Militärstr. 8 / PO 1930, CH 8021 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: karsten.heekeren@uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heekeren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004532:Ego; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012660:Semantics
keywords: ERP (event related potential); Ego pathology; N400; Psychosis; Self-concept; Self-reference