Do schizophrenics not differentiate between perception and imagination? an EEG study using dimensional analysis.
The electroencephalograms (EEGs) of 18 chronic schizophrenic patients and 16 controls were compared during three experimental conditions: simple mental arithmetic, the perception of a moving double pendulum, and the imagination of it. An elevated dimensional complexity of the EEG of schizophrenic patients during perception as compared to normals and a failure to increase dimensional complexity during mental imagery was found. No differences were found during mental arithmetic. It is concluded that the brains of schizophrenics operate during perception in a functional state that is characterised by increased and apparently unnecessary complexity.
Lutzenberger
W
W
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie und Verhaltensneurobiologie, Universität Tübingen, Germany.
Stevens
A
A
Bartels
M
M
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology