Arousal and maintenance of schizophrenic attention

✍ Scribed by Michael Hirt; William Pithers

• Book ID: 101342840
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 479 KB
• Volume: 46
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9762
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-4679(199001)46:1<15::aid-jclp2270460103>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

Preparatory interval, the length of time between a warning signal and the imperative stimulus, has been a major independent variable in studies that have examined reaction times of schizophrenics. Based on the hypothesis that schizophrenics have difficulty maintaining a heightened "set" to respond, long preparatory intervals (e.g., 7 seconds) have been predominant. However, long preparatory intervals do not permit an evaluation of the time course required to attain a heightened attentional state. This study employs preparatory intervals that range between 0 and 4000 msec in order to assess the arousal and maintenance of a heightened attentional state in schizophrenics (N = 10) and a normal control group (N = 10). The data suggest that schizophrenics may attain a heightened alertness more rapidly than normals. Schizophrenics are unable to maintain this state of alertness as competently as normal subjects. A hypothetical rationale for this finding is proposed.