Self-monitoring impairment and symptoms of schizophrenia

A deficit in self-monitoring is thought to underlay certain symptoms of schizophrenia, namely hallucinations, delusions of control, and delusions of thought insertion. However, past evidence for this theory has not isolated self-monitoring from proprioceptive ability. Twenty-four patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 12 healthy controls matched on age, gender, and parental education, completed a self-monitoring task independent of proprioceptive ability, as well as tests of proprioception. Results revealed that patients with hallucinations, delusions of control, and delusions of thought insertion (n = 14) performed at the same level as healthy controls on all tests. In integrating these results with past findings, an information processing bias is proposed to underlay the symptoms of interest.