(41 h), no history of serious cardiopulmonary problems or very high blood
pressure, no diagnosis of mental retardation, and no recent history of serious
suicidal/aggressive behavior. For the patient group, the inclusion criteria also
included a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, presence of
active psychosis (ratings of Z3 for any psychosis item on the SAPS), and capacity
to give informed consent. For the healthy controls group, exclusion criteria
included a history of psychosis, a diagnosis of any DSM-IV Axis II Cluster A
personality disorder, a first degree family member with history of psychosis, and
being adopted. In the schizophrenia group, 35 participants had a DSM-IV diagnosis
of Schizophrenia, three had Schizoaffective Disorder, three Schizophreniform
Disorder, and three Psychosis NOS. The average dosage of antipsychotic medication
prescribed (as indexed by chlorpromazine equivalence) was 239.97
(S.D.¼242.79).
2.2. Procedure
Participants were referred to the study from clinics associated with NYSPI, as
well as clinicians in the community. After an initial phone screen, participants
signed the informed consent forms and completed the assessment of inclusion/
exclusion criteria. Four participants’ data were excluded (three due to positive
toxicology results, and one due to disorganization). Participants typically completed
all emotion processing, social functioning, and clinical ratings within one to
two weeks of study entry. Establishment of research diagnoses and assessment of
neurocognition was completed within one to two months from study entry.
Diagnoses were determined using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies
(DIGS), a semi-structured diagnostic interview and medical records review that is
used to gather diagnostic and course of illness information for mood, psychotic,
and substance use DSM-IV disorders. The DIGS was administered by clinical
research interviewers at the Masters’ level or above. A team of research clinical
psychologists and psychiatrists made consensus diagnoses based on information
collected via the DIGS. Positive and negative syndrome were characterized using
the SAPS and SANS.