Self-consciousness impairments in schizophrenia with and without first rank symptoms using the moving rubber hand illusion.

Introduction: The moving rubber hand illusion allows the evaluation both the sense of body ownership and agency using visuo-motor stimulations.

Methods: We used the moving rubber hand illusion in anatomic congruence with explicit measures to compare active asynchronous and passive synchronous movements in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with first rank symptoms (FRS) (n = 31) versus without FRS (n = 25).

Results: Patients with FRS are characterized by a lack of agency in active asynchronous condition.

'What is more familiar than I? Self, other and familiarity in schizophrenia.

Background: Familiarity disorders (FDs) critically impact social cognition in persons with schizophrenia. FDs can affect both relationships with people familiar to the patient and the patient's relationship with himself, in the case of a self-disorder. Skin conductance response (SCR) studies have shown that familiar and unknown faces elicit the same emotional response in persons with schizophrenia with FD.