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BMC Psychiatry

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Open Access 01-12-2020 | Schizophrenia | Research article

Cognitive effort-avoidance in patients with schizophrenia can reflect Amotivation: an event-related potential study

Authors: Y. X. Lin, Li Jun Zhang, Liang Ying, Qiang Zhou

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2020

Abstract

Background

Amotivation is regarded as a core negative symptom in patients with schizophrenia. There are currently no objective methods for assessing and measuring amotivation in the scientific literature, only a trend towards assessing motivation using effort-orientated, decision-making tasks. However, it remains inconclusive as to whether cognitive effort-avoidance in patients with schizophrenia can reflect their amotivation. Therefore, this study aimed to find out whether cognitive effort-avoidance in patients with schizophrenia can reflect their amotivation.

Methods

In total, 28 patients with schizophrenia and 27 healthy controls were selected as participants. The demand selection task (DST) was adapted according to the feedback-based Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) delayed response paradigm, which was combined with the mean amplitude of contingent negative variation (CNV), considered as the criterion of motivation.

Results

Our results showed that: (1) patients with schizophrenia showed a lower CNV amplitude for the target stimuli compared to the probe stimuli, whereas the control group showed the opposite trend (P < 0.05); (2) among patients with schizophrenia, the high cognitive effort-avoidance group showed a smaller CNV amplitude for the target stimuli compared to the probe stimuli, whereas the low cognitive effort avoidance group showed a higher CNV amplitude for the target stimuli compared to the probe stimuli; the opposite trend was observed in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

These findings support the claim that CNV amplitude can be used as a criterion for detecting amotivation in patients with schizophrenia. Within the context of the DST, the high and low cognitive effort-avoidance of patients with schizophrenia can reflect their state of amotivation; patients with high cognitive effort-avoidance showed severe amotivation.

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Title: Cognitive effort-avoidance in patients with schizophrenia can reflect Amotivation: an event-related potential study
Authors: Y. X. Lin
Li Jun Zhang
Liang Ying
Qiang Zhou
Publication date: 01-12-2020
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keyword: Schizophrenia
Published in: BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02744-4

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Cognitive effort-avoidance in patients with schizophrenia can reflect Amotivation: an event-related potential study

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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