General Hospital

Evidence suggests that individuals with schizophrenia dem-onstrate emotion-processing deficits. However, the nature and extent of emotion abnormalities in individuals consid-ered at risk for schizophrenia have not been previously sum-marized. This article provides a review of the recent literature pertaining to emotion processing in 3 at-risk pop-ulations: those at familial high risk, those with schizotypal characteristics, and those in the putative prodrome to psy-chosis. Studies are reviewed across the components of emo-tion perception, experience, and expression. Further, we discuss investigations into psychophysiology, brain struc-ture, and brain function that employ emotion probes. Re-view of the literature suggests that individuals at high risk demonstrate similar abnormalities to those with schizo-phrenia but at an attenuated level. The most robust findings in at-risk groups are in the areas of reduced emotion per-ception, self-reported anhedonia, and increased negative af-fect. We conclude with an agenda for future research. Key words: high risk/schizophrenia/emotion/revie