Schizophrenic patients show facial reactions to emotional facial expressions

Facial reactions in schizophrenic patients were assessed via electromyography (EMG) in response to pictures of facial expressions. Male patients and nonpatient controls viewed photographs of positive and negative facial expressions while EMG activity from the corrugator and zygomatic muscle regions was recorded. Both schizophrenic patients and controls exhibited greater zygomatic reactivity in response to positive pictures than in response to negative pictures and greater corrugator reactivity in response to negative pictures than in response to positive pictures. Schizophrenic patients exhibited greater corrugator reactivity than did nonpatient controls. Implications for understanding emotion expression and perception in schizophrenic patients are discussed.