Face Identity Recognition with Interference of Unusual Features by People with Schizophrenia

Abstract Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder characterized by enhanced sensory-perceptual alterations. We investigated face identity recognition in people with schizophrenia with the Facial Identity Recognition Structured Task (FIRST) develop at our laboratory. This was created with natural interference features (beard, makeup and mask). This task consists in six block-trails of six images for identity recognition. Forty three adult volunteers divided into two groups: a Health Control (HC) and a group of hospitalized patients with Schizophrenia (SchG) participated in the study. We measured the total number of correct answers as well as the average reaction time for each block. We observed significant losses in recognition of identity faces with interferences such as make up, beard and facial-mask.