Can we Forget? Directed Forgetting and Embodied Cognition in Schizophrenia

Based on the theory of embodied cognition, which focuses on the influence of sensory and motor processes on cognition, researchers propose to study the influence of the action on memorization and inhibition in patients suffering from schizophrenia, using a directed forgetting paradigm. The directed forgetting paradigm is used, composed of two lists of action verbs. The instruction "to forget" is given at the end of learning the first list (To Be Forgotten (TBF)), following a simulation of a computer bug. Therefore a second list is presented to be learned and remembered (To Be Remembered (TBR)). A recognition task is performed at the end. The action verbs had to be encoded using four conditions: action performed, mimed, imagined action, action with a contextual word, reading the action verb only. 48 schizophrenic patients were included in this study. Patients were randomized to have 10 participants per condition. 48 controls matched by age, gender, laterality and education are also included and randomized in the same modality. This study aims to show that the encoding of sensory-motor components, more than providing a context could improve the inhibitory capacities but also memory in schizophrenia, and possibly be used in remediation cognitive.