Effects of nicotine on social cognition and social stress in schizophrenia

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Wölwer
• Subject Area: Biological Psychiatry
• Term: from 2006 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24695351

Self-medication of attentional deficits and of increased stress vulnerability may contribute to nicotine-dependence both in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects. However, very little is known about the effect of nicotine on stress in schizophrenia. In particular social stressors are highly relevant in schizophrenia often resulting in social withdrawal. A factor contributing to the stress-eliciting nature of social interaction is the misidentification of social information during communication with others. The present project aims at an investigation of nicotine effects on such social information processing and its neurophysiological correlates and on social stress responses. Using a 2x2-factorial design effects of nicotine vs. placebo are experimentally investigated in smoking schizophrenia patients in comparison to smoking healthy controls each after an overnight smoking deprivation. Nicotine will be administered by nasal spray delivering a systemic does of 2 mg nicotine. Event-related EEG potentials will be recorded during the presentation of pictures of facial affect and neutral control stimuli to assess social information processing and its neurophysiological correlates. In addition a videotaped semi-standardized conversation skills role-play test will be used as a social stress situation to assess self-reported and non-verbal affective responses.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1226: Nicotine: Molecular and Physiological Effects in the Central Nervous System (CNS)
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Georg Winterer