Interaction of negative olfactory stimulation and working memory in schizophrenia patients: Development and evaluation of a behavioral neuroimaging task

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 144; no. 2; pp. 123 - 130
• Main Authors: Schneider, Frank, Koch, Kathrin, Reske, Martina, Kellermann, Thilo, Seiferth, N., Stöcker, Tony, Amunts, Katrin, Shah, N. Jon, Habel, Ute
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 15.11.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affect; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Emotion; Expressed Emotion; Female; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medical sciences; Memory Disorders - diagnosis; Memory Disorders - epidemiology; Mood induction; n-back task; Odorants; Olfaction; Physical Stimulation - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - epidemiology; Schizophrenic Psychology; Smell - physiology; Mood induction; Emotion; n-back task; Olfaction; Human; Affect affectivity; Evaluation; Induction; Schizophrenia; Cognition; Emotion emotionality; Psychosis; Mood; Development; Perception; Behavior; Working memory
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2004.12.013

Negative affect plays a crucial role in the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Although it is known that negative emotion has a strong effect on cognitive performance, this interaction has mainly been studied in healthy volunteers. Hence, working memory was assessed in 24 schizophrenia patients and 24 matched comparison subjects with a 0-back/2-back continuous performance test. Simultaneously, negative emotion was induced by olfactory stimulation. Although subjective ratings confirmed that stimulation with a negative odor was associated with a significant increase in negative affect in patients and healthy volunteers, working memory performance was affected differentially in healthy volunteers and schizophrenia patients. Whilst a similar trend of a reduced behavioral performance during negative odor stimulation was observed in patients, only controls demonstrated a significantly higher response time and a reduced number of correct reactions during higher working memory demands (2-back). Patients, on the other hand, revealed an increase in false alarms during both conditions. The present data indicate a differential effect of negative mood induction on working memory performance in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects.