Background and Aim : Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness encompassing a spectrum of cognitive, social, and emotional impairments. One of the serious problems in schizophrenia is functional dysfunction. Emotional face recognition is an effective component of social functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between negative emotional faces perception and global function in patients with schizophrenia.

Materials and Methods: The method of this study was analytical- descriptive. Using convenience sampling method 30 patients with schizophrenia (16 male/14female, 20-45 years old) were selected from Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospitalof Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. Their functionswere assessed by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and responses to emotional face perception(N170) were recorded by Event Related Potential(ERP). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and linear regression in SPSS software version 15.

Results: Results showed that the mean amplitudes of N170 responses to fearful and angry faces in patients with schizophrenia were significantly correlated with the GAFscores (P<0.001). Besides, the amplitudes of N170 responses to angry faces (as compared to fearful faces) could predicate the % 26 of the GAF scores changes by stepwise regression analysis.

Conclusion Findings suggested that the functional dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia is due to the deficit in the early stage of facial expression perception.

Key words : Schizophrenia, Emotional Face, Global Functioning, N170, ERP