The relationship between insight and autobiographical memory for emotional events in schizophrenia

Arlene G MacDougall; Margaret C McKinnon; Katherine A Herdman; Matthew J King; Michael Kiang

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.12.058

The relationship between insight and autobiographical memory for emotional events in schizophrenia

Psychiatry Res. 2015 Mar 30;226(1):392-5. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.12.058. Epub 2015 Jan 14.

Authors

Arlene G MacDougall¹, Margaret C McKinnon², Katherine A Herdman³, Matthew J King⁴, Michael Kiang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London Health Sciences Centre-Victoria Hospital, 800 Commissioner's Road East, London, ON, Canada N6A 5W9; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, St. Joseph׳s Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7. Electronic address: arlene.macdougall@lhsc.on.ca.
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, St. Joseph׳s Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; Homewood Research Institute, Homewood Health Centre, 150 Delhi Street, Guelph, ON, Canada N1E 6K9. Electronic address: mmckinno@stjosham.on.ca.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, St. Joseph׳s Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7. Electronic address: kherdman@yorku.ca.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, St. Joseph׳s Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7. Electronic address: matthew1.king@psych.ryerson.ca.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, St. Joseph׳s Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 1R8. Electronic address: michael.kiang@camh.ca.

PMID: 25623015
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.12.058

Abstract

The relation of episodic and semantic memory for emotional- (positive, negative) and neutral-valenced autobiographical events to illness insight was examined in individuals with schizophrenia. Reduced recall of episodic details for negative events was significantly associated with impaired awareness of having a past mental disorder and its social consequences. Deficits in episodic memory for negative autobiographical events may underlie impaired insight in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Autobiographical memory; Insight; Schizophrenia.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Awareness
Emotions*
Female
Humans
Life Change Events*
Male
Memory, Episodic*
Mental Recall / physiology*
Neuropsychological Tests
Problem Solving
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Schizophrenia / complications
Schizophrenic Psychology*