Positive and Negative Schizophrenic Symptoms, Attention, and Information Processing

This study was concerned with the relationship between attentional and information-processing deficits and positive vs. negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Sixteen schizophrenic patients, rated for extent of positive and negative symptomatology, 17 depressed patients, and 31 normal control subjects...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Schizophrenia bulletin 1985, Vol.11 (3), p.397-408
Main Authors: Cornblatt, Barbara A, Lenzenweger, Mark F, Dworkin, Robert H, Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Female
Human
Humans
Inpatient
Major Depression
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Recall
Outpatient
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Positive and Negative Symptoms
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
Schizophrenic Psychology
Speech Perception
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Description
Summary:This study was concerned with the relationship between attentional and information-processing deficits and positive vs. negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Sixteen schizophrenic patients, rated for extent of positive and negative symptomatology, 17 depressed patients, and 31 normal control subjects were tested on a measure of distractibility and ability to process under information overload. To establish the validity of our measures, schizophrenic patients were compared with depressed patients and with normal control subjects. Lowered processing capacity appeared to be specific to schizophrenia, although the specificity of differential distractibility was less clear. For schizophrenic patients, positive symptoms were related to distractibility, whereas negative symptoms were associated with lowered processing capacity. These findings were interpreted as supporting Crow's (1981) hypothesis that the two clinical syndromes reflect independent pathological processes.
ISSN:0586-7614
1745-1701
DOI:10.1093/schbul/11.3.397