title: Impaired coherence of life narratives of patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: Self-narratives of patients have received increasing interest in schizophrenia since they offer unique material to study patients' subjective experience related to their illness, in particular the alteration of self that accompanies schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the life narratives and the ability to integrate and bind memories of personal events into a coherent narrative in 27 patients with schizophrenia and 26 controls. Four aspects of life narratives were analyzed: coherence with cultural concept of biography, temporal coherence, causal-motivational coherence and thematic coherence. Results showed that in patients cultural biographical knowledge is preserved, whereas temporal coherence is partially impaired. Furthermore, causal-motivational and thematic coherence are significantly impaired: patients have difficulties explaining how events have modeled their identity, and integrating different events along thematic lines. Impairment of global causal-motivational and thematic coherence was significantly correlated with patients' executive dysfunction, suggesting that cognitive impairment observed in patients could affect their ability to construct a coherent narrative of their life by binding important events to their self. This study provides new understanding of the cognitive deficits underlying self-disorders in patients with schizophrenia. Our findings suggest the potential usefulness of developing new therapeutic interventions to improve autobiographical reasoning skills.
authors.affiliation: 1] INSERM U-1114, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Clinique Psychiatrique, Strasbourg, France [2] Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, 4 rue Kirchleger, Strasbourg, France [3] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Mélissa C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Allé
authors.affiliation: 1] INSERM U-1114, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Clinique Psychiatrique, Strasbourg, France [2] Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, 4 rue Kirchleger, Strasbourg, France [3] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France [4] Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Jevita
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Potheegadoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Christin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Köber
authors.affiliation: 1] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France [2] Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Strasbourg, France [3] Centre Hospitalier de Rouffach, Centre de Ressources Autisme Alsace, Rouffach, France.
authors.forename: Priscille
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: 1] INSERM U-1114, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Clinique Psychiatrique, Strasbourg, France [2] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France [3] Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Centre de Ressources Autisme de Lorraine, 1 rue du Dr Archambault, Laxou, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coutelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Tilmann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Habermas
authors.affiliation: 1] INSERM U-1114, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Clinique Psychiatrique, Strasbourg, France [2] Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, 4 rue Kirchleger, Strasbourg, France [3] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France [4] Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Danion
authors.affiliation: 1] INSERM U-1114, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Clinique Psychiatrique, Strasbourg, France [2] Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, 4 rue Kirchleger, Strasbourg, France [3] FMTS: Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France [4] Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D060685:Sense of Coherence