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Significant Humour Deficits Found in Patients With Schizophrenia: Presented at CPA

By Donalee Moulton

HALIFAX, NS -- November 3, 2003 -- Researchers have found significant deficits in humour perception among patients with schizophrenia -- findings that could have important implications for understanding more about the disorder, the researchers report.

"Our humour test demonstrated a significant difference in scores between patients with schizophrenia and control subjects matched for gender, age and education," noted lead researcher Jeffrey Reiss, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "Hence, schizophrenia seems to be accompanied by a deficit in humor perception."

Dr. Reiss presented the findings at the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, held October 30^th to November 2^nd in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"This finding provides another means to study cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia," he said. "The primary advantage of studying humour in schizophrenia is that the integrity of humour relies on appropriate associations and social acumen, two characteristics prominently impaired in schizophrenia [patients]."

The study compared an experimental group of 23 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia and a group of 20 healthy controls. Demographic information was obtained from each group and all participants were given a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a humour test consisting of 128 questions that included 64 cartoons with correct captions and 64 cartoons with incorrect captions. The schizophrenia group was also administered a Positive and Negative Syndrome Score (PANSS).

A significant difference in humour perception tests scores was recorded, said Dr. Reiss. Patients with schizophrenia had a mean score of 92; the control group had a mean score of 113.5. Although not statistically significant, there was also a trend towards an inverse correlation between humour test scores and length of illness.


[Study title: Deficits in Humor Perception in Schizophrenia. Abstract P1-4]

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