Suzanne Ho-Wai So1,2, Anson K C Chau1, Emmanuelle R Peters2, Joel Swendsen3,4, Philippa A Garety2, Shitij Kapur5. 1. a Department of Psychology , The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong SAR , People's Republic of China. 2. b Department of Psychology , Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London , London , UK. 3. c University of Bordeaux, Aquitaine Institute for Cognitive and Integrative Neuroscience , Bordeaux , France. 4. d EPHE PSL University , Paris , France. 5. e Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences , University of Melbourne , Melbourne , Australia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: There is an ongoing debate about whether negative affect are consequences or triggers of paranoid thinking. It has also been suggested that aberrant salience is central to the development of delusions. This study modelled the moment-to-moment relationships between negative affect, aberrant salience, and paranoia in acute inpatients with psychosis. METHODS: Participants with active paranoid delusions were assessed using clinical rating scales and experience sampling method (ESM) over 14 days. ESM data were analysed using time-lagged multilevel regression modelling. RESULTS: Both negative affect and aberrant salience predicted an increase in paranoia at the next time point. Conversely, the level of paranoia did not predict subsequent changes in negative affect or aberrant salience. Negative affect predicted an increase in aberrant salience at the next time point, and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Negative affect and aberrant salience appear to drive and exacerbate paranoia, rather than being merely the sequelae of the symptom. Our results suggest both direct and indirect (via aberrant salience) pathways from negative affect to paranoia.
INTRODUCTION: There is an ongoing debate about whether negative affect are consequences or triggers of paranoid thinking. It has also been suggested that aberrant salience is central to the development of delusions. This study modelled the moment-to-moment relationships between negative affect, aberrant salience, and paranoia in acute inpatients with psychosis. METHODS:Participants with active paranoid delusions were assessed using clinical rating scales and experience sampling method (ESM) over 14 days. ESM data were analysed using time-lagged multilevel regression modelling. RESULTS: Both negative affect and aberrant salience predicted an increase in paranoia at the next time point. Conversely, the level of paranoia did not predict subsequent changes in negative affect or aberrant salience. Negative affect predicted an increase in aberrant salience at the next time point, and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Negative affect and aberrant salience appear to drive and exacerbate paranoia, rather than being merely the sequelae of the symptom. Our results suggest both direct and indirect (via aberrant salience) pathways from negative affect to paranoia.
Authors: Laura von Hardenberg; Karolina Leopold; Nikola Stenzel; Michèle Kallenbach; Navid Aliakbari; Andreas Bechdolf; Stephanie Mehl Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2022-09-16 Impact factor: 5.435