title: Blink rate in childhood schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
abstract: Spontaneous blink rate, a putative measure of dopamine function, was measured in schizophrenic, schizotypal, and normal children, aged 5.6-13.2 years during three different cognitive tasks. Unlike that of schizophrenic adults, the blink rate of the schizophrenic children who were not on neuroleptics was significantly lower than that of the normal children. There were no statistically significant differences, however, in the blink rates of the neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic children and the normal children. The schizophrenic and schizotypal children had similar spontaneous blink rates. Within each diagnostic group, the blink rate was lowest for listening, intermediate for conversation, and highest for verbal recall. These findings highlight the need to examine the relationship between age, blink rate, and dopamine function in childhood-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caplan
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guthrie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012557:Schizoid Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014705:Verbal Behavior
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D004298:Dopamine