Anomalous self-experiences in biotypes of psychosis

Abstract

Biotypes of psychoses represent transdiagnostic clusters based on pathological characteristics relevant to this syndrome. This approach seeks to help with the delimitation of groups with external validity within the psychotic syndrome beyond current categories. Our group has previously proposed two biotypes characterized by different cognitive performance and anatomical and functional alterations. Here, we propose that these groups may also differ in the presence and/or severity of anomalous self-experiences. We included 113 patients with psychotic disorders, classified as biotypes into clusters 1 (n = 30, with severe cognitive deficit) and 2 (n = 83, with moderate cognitive deficit) according to criteria established in previous studies (Comparelli et al in Compr Psychiatry 65:44-49, 2016) and (Nelson et al in Schizophr Res 152:20-27) healthy controls. The Inventory of Psychotic-Like Anomalous Self-Experiences (IPASE) was used to score anomalous self-experiences. Cluster 1 patients (severe cognitive impairment) showed significantly higher IPASE scores than healthy controls and Cluster 2 patients, whereas differences between Cluster 2 patients and healthy controls were less pronounced. We conclude that severe anomalous self-experiences characterize the biotype 1 of psychoses, alongside marked cognitive deficits, anatomical alterations, functional basal hyperactivity and higher negative symptoms scores.