title: The Rubber Hand Illusion paradigm as a sensory learning process in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) has previously been used to depict the hierarchy between visual, tactile and perceptual stimuli. Studies on schizophrenia inpatients (SZs) have found mixed results in the ability to first learn the illusion, and have yet to explain the learning process involved. This study's aim was two-fold: to examine the learning process of the RHI in SZs and healthy controls over time, and to better understand the relationship between psychotic symptoms and the RHI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty schizophrenia inpatients and 30 healthy controls underwent five different trials of the RHI over a two-week period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As has been found in previous studies, SZs felt the initial illusion faster than healthy controls did, but their learning process throughout the trials was inconsistent. Furthermore, for SZs, no correlations between psychotic symptoms and the learning of the illusion emerged.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Healthy individuals show a delayed reaction to first feeling the illusion (due to latent inhibition), but easily learn the illusion over time. For SZs, both strength of the illusion and the ability to learn the illusion over time are inconsistent. The cognitive impairment in SZ impedes the learning process of the RHI, and SZs are unable to utilize the repetition of the process as healthy individuals can.
authors.affiliation: Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel. Electronic address: ldlevari@zahav.net.il.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lev-Ari
authors.affiliation: Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, affiliated with the Technion Institute of Technology, Hadera, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirschmann
authors.affiliation: Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, affiliated with the Technion Institute of Technology, Hadera, Israel.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dyskin
authors.affiliation: Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, affiliated with the Technion Institute of Technology, Hadera, Israel.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hirschmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D012408:Rubber; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012408:Rubber
keywords: Healthy controls; Inpatients; Learning; Rubber Hand Illusion; Schizophrenia