Proprioception and Tactile Perception in Schizophrenia

Abstract

The aim of this review is to investigate the relationship between proprioceptive and tactile perceptual aberrations and the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, a correlation which has already been established by several studies (Lenzenweger, 2006; Postmes et al., 2014; Chang and Lenzenweger, 2005; Michael and Park, 2016; Germine et al., 2013; Kent et al., 2010). However, the direction of causality within the correlation is still unknown. Because several studies indicate an abnormal and uneven weighting of the senses in schizophrenic multisensory integration, it is possible that the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia may be due to multisensory integration abnormalities involving proprioceptive and tactile perception. Several theories have also been proposed that schizophrenia itself is the cause of these proprioceptive and tactile perception anomalies. There could also be neuroanatomical factors that underlie both the schizophrenia psychotic symptoms and proprioceptive and tactile perception aberrations. Because of limitations in the current research, a definite causal direction is still unable to be determined. Several practices to improve the methods of analysis in this field of study include incorporating measures of schizotypy with less subjectivity and using longitudinal neurodevelopmental studies to pinpoint developmental aberrations in proprioception, tactile perception, and the correlated psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. These methods may lead to better pre-emptive target interventions and could establish the directionality of causation between proprioception and tactile perception anomalies and positive schizophrenia symptoms.